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f THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

A 12* THE 

OSYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



THE SYRIAC, PESHITO, CONTRASTED WITH THE GREEK, WITH 
RESPECT TO THE FOLLOWING WORDS, VIZ. : 



g\ (Greek.) 



c.) (English Version of the Greek.) (English Version of the Syriac.) ^\ 

SOZO. Save. to give Life, n 

SOTERXA. Salvation. The gift of Life, n 
SOTER. Savior. T he Life-Giver. Q 

By J^ H. PETTINGELL, A. M. A 

Author of the " Homiletical Index," "Theological Trilemma," fl 

" Platonism versus Christianity," "Bible Terminology," © 

" The Life Everlasting," " The Unspeakable Gift," " Lan- \\ 

guage—Its Nature and Functions," " The Two Ways," X 

" Will Satan Live Forever?" "Human Immor- (J 

tality," "Life and Death in the New Testa- K 

ment" " The Fact and Nature of the \j 

Resurrection of the Dead," etc., etc. A 



" Christ spoke and discoursed in the Syriac language." Francius. 

" Tbe greater part of the New Testament was originally written — I 
believe — in Syriac, and not merely translated, in the Apostolic age." 
Pres. E. Stiles, of Yale College. 

" It is natural to suppose, from its great antiquity, that it must deviate in 
many cases from the Greek manuscripts, the oldest frfvchiflh wrrr__writtcn 
above four hundred years later, and are mostly th^proddictfofiS 1 ' 
tries remote from Syria." Michaelis. 




t| YARMOUTH. 

f) SCRIPTURAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
(\ Address, I. C. WELLCOME. 

j)^ Price, 15 Cents, by mail. 



r <& 



3>^/r 



COPYKIGHTED B5T I. C. "WELLCOME, 



THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

IN THE 

SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



It is the opinion of many scholars, that the Hebrew 
was the original language of man ; that it was given 
to our first parents directly from heaven ; first, in the 
oral form, and afterward, in the time of Moses, and 
not till then, in written characters. For this opinion 
they urge many sound reasons. But, be this as it 
may, we know that the Hebrew language was the 
vernacular of the ancient Israelites, and that the Old 
Testament Scriptures, some parts in prose and some 
in poetry, excepting a few fragmentary parts, were 
written in Hebrew. 

The language of the Chaldeans, by whom the Jews 
were carried into captivity, about 600 years before 
Christ, was a branch of the same root, though it dif- 
fered widely in both its oral and written form. In 
consequence of their long detention in the country of 
the Chaldeans, the pure Hebrew tongue of the Jews 
became corrupted, and after their return to Syria, it 
was still further corrupted by their subjugation to 
other nations, and by the importation of other races 
into their country: so that, at the commencement of 
the Christian era, their vernacular, — though still retain- 
ing the general characteristics of the old Hebrew, — had 
become what is called the Syro-Chaldaic, or Syriao 
language. This was divided into two j)rincipal dia- 
lects ; the Eastern Aramean, which prevailed along 
the Southern and Eastern coasts of Syria ; and the 
Western Aramean, which prevailed in the regions to 
the North and West. These dialects, however, were 
substantially the same language, differing more in the 
form of the written characters employed and in the 
pronunciation of the words, than in the words them- 
selves. 



4 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

After the conquest of this country by Alexander, in 
the fourth century before Christ, the Greek language 
was introduced, and came generally to prevail as the 
language of the learned and ruling classes, throughout 
Syria and all the surrounding regions. Still later, in 
the century before Christ, the Latin tongue was intro- 
duced by their Roman conquerors. Though it had 
some standing, as the language of their rulers and 
law-givers, it was never very extensively used in this 
part of Asia; but, after a time, it came to prevail to a 
considerable extent, to the West of Syria, and espe- 
cially in Europe, as the language of the educated 
classes. 

Thus, it will be seen that, at the beginning of the 
Christian era, there were three languages, — not to 
notice others of minor importance, — that prevailed to a 
greater or less extent, in Syria or Palestine : The 
Syriac or Syro-Chaldaic, which was the vernacular of 
the common people, of the synagogues and other \nib- 
lic assemblies of the Jews ; The Greek, which was the 
language of what are commonly called the upper 
classes, the educated and the refined ; The Latin, 
which was the language of the government to which 
they were subject. 

The state of things, with respect to diversity of 
tongues, in Palestine, in the time of Christ, was simi- 
lar to that which now obtains in some of our larger 
cities, and especially, some of the cities and countries 
of the Old World. Take, for example, the city of 
Antwerp, in Belgium, with which, — having resided 
there for several years, — I am familiar. The basilar 
language of the people is Flemish, which is a corrupt 
form of the Dutch. Every citizen is supposed to be 
able to understand, and to use this language, both in 
its spoken and written form. The uneducated and 
laboring classes know no other. It is the vernacular 
of the streets, of the workshops, of the markets, and 
of most of the Churches. But the French also pre- 
vails very extensively. It is the language of business 
and trade among all the higher classes. It is taught 
in their schools, and is the ruling language of their 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. O 

higher seminaries of learning, of their literary, artistic, 
and social circles. No one makes aDy pretension to a 
fair education, who has not added to his native Flem- 
ish, a knowledge of the French also. The streets of 
the city have two names; one in Flemish, and the 
other in French. The daily papers, in each of these 
languages, circulate side by side, and men of affairs 
take and read both. Beside these, both the English 
and the German are used to a considerable extent, 
especially by 'the merchants. It is not difficult for an 
Englishman or an American, who is familiar with only 
•his own tongue, to do business in most of the principal 
shops, and to make himself understood at the hotels 
of the city. 

That our Lord, whose intercourse was chiefly with 
the common people, preached and taught in their own 
Syriac vernacular, there is no doubt. "The common 
people heard Him gladly." Indeed it is not certain 
that He ever used any other. He grew up among 
them as a laborer, and probably had no other education 
as a child, or mere man, than was common with the class 
to which lie belonged. Of course, I am not speaking of 
His knowledge as a divine person. The same is true 
of His twelve Apostles, and His more immediate dis- 
ciples. That all of them were familiar with the spok- 
en Syriac, there is no question. How many of them 
were sufficiently educated to be able to read or write 
it, or whether any of them were familiar with the 
Greek, which would indicate a still higher education, 
and if so, which of them, must be a matter of conject- 
ure. We know that most of them were taken 
from the lower walks of life, and those of them who 
were natives of Galilee, no doubt, spoke with the 
brogue, which was common in that region, and which 
differed from that of Judea, as perhaps that of Scot- 
land differs from that of England. When Peter 
denied his Lord in Jerusalem, his speech betrayed his 
Galilean origin. 

The inscription over the cross, The King of the 
Jews, was written in the three prevailing languages; 
Hebrew (or Syriac), Greek, and Latin, that it might 



6 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

be read by all classes. Here, perhaps, we may see an 
unwitting prophecy of His future universal Kingship. 
When the chief priests would have had it changed to 
" He said, I am King of the Jews," Pilate showed a 
little of the firmness he so sadly lacked in giving Him 
over to their will, by replying, " What I have written, 
I have written." 

That Paul, as an educated man, the divinely com- 
missioned Apostle to the Gentiles, was ^familiar with 
both the Hebrew-Syriac and Greek languages, and per- 
haps also, — aside from his supernatural endowments, — 
with the Latin, and other languages is quite probable. 
But he expressly tells us that, when the Lord revealed 
Himself to him, on the way to Damascus, He spoke to 
him in the Hebrew (that is, in the Syro-Chaldaic) 
tongue. No doubt, also, Paul's missionary compan- 
ions, such as Silas, Barnabas, Mark, Luke, and Timo- 
thy, — none of whom, however, were of the twelve 
Apostles, — were well educated for their work. When 
Paul had been rescued from the violence of the mob 
at Jerusalem, Claudius Lysias, the chief captain, who 
had rescued him, not knowing his antecedents, seems 
to have been suprised that he could speak Greek, and 
was glad to confer, privately, with him in that tongue. 
Then, when he had permitted him to address the 
surging multitude, that were thirsting for his blood, 
Paul beckoned with his hand, and began to address 
them in their own vernacular ; and when they heard 
that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the 
more silence. 

The foregoing remarks are introductory to the more 
interesting and important inquiry : In what language, 
or languages, were the twenty-seven books of the New 
Testament first written t It may not be so easy as many 
seem to suppose, to answer this question, which has 
taxed the scholarship of our most learned biblical 
scholars for many generations, in a perfectly satisfac- 
tory manner, with respect to some of these books, nor, 
indeed, with respect to any of them ; for none of the 
original manuscripts are known to exist. Although 
there are many old manuscripts now extant, in Greek, 



IN THE SYHIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 7 

Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Gothic, and other tongues, con- 
taining parts, or in some cases, nearly, if not quite 
the whole of our present canon, there are none that 
reach back beyond the fourth century of the Christian 
era; and these, of course, must be translations, or cop- 
ies of still older ones, now lost. These manuscripts 
vary, to a greater or less degree, from each other. 
There are said to have been found not less than one 
hundred thousand variations in such of the Greek 
manuscripts alone, as have been collated, — most of 
them, minute and of little apparent importance, but 
still, they show how impossible it is to be sure of the 
exact words, or ideas of the original; even supposing 
that to have been the Greek, which can only be a mat- 
ter of inference, at the best. The only way of decid- 
ing what is the true reading of any passage in which 
these manuscripts differ, as well as what was the 
language in which the first manuscripts were written, 
from which these later ones have been copied, or 
translated, is by a careful comparison of all these 
various codices with each other, and by the citations 
that are found in the writings of the Fathers, and by 
such hints or more positive statements as may be 
found in them; and then it becomes simply a question 
of the weight of evidence bearing on one side or the 
other. There is hardly any question of importance, 
w T ith regard to the authorship of any one of those 
books, or the original language in which it was writ- 
ten, or to any important diversity of reading, that has 
not given rise to conflicting views, or opinions, among 
learned men, which they have stoutly contested. It is 
only by a majority, or two-thirds vote, according to 
previous agreement, that our translators, or revisers, 
have been able to determine these questions among 
themselves. 

The amount of learning and research that has been 
expended on these questions, during the centuries, is 
immense. No one man, however diligent he might 
be, could possibly possess himself of all that has been 
written on them, were he to devote a long life to this 
special study. All that any ordinary student of the 



8 THE GOSPEL OE LIEE 

Scripture — without professing to be an adept in Ori- 
ental literature and paleontological science, — can 
hope to do, is to make himself acquainted, as far as he 
is able, with the gist of what these scholars have 
written, and then, with their help, and by his own 
independent study, to satisfy himself as best he can in 
regard to these matters. 

I propose nothing more in this paper than, in a 
modest way, to give the results of my own inquiry in 
this line, for the consideration of others. 

1. The common impression that the entire Xew 
Testament was first written in Greek, and that all the 
copies we now have, in whatever tongue, are copies, or 
translations of the original manuscripts, when seriously 
examined, is found to have no certain foundation. 
And yet this has been taken almost universally, for 
granted. It is probable, that this is true with respect 
to some, possibly a majority of these books. But it is 
more than probable, if not quite certain, that some 
portions of the New Testament, such as the Gospel of 
Matthew, the Epistles to the Hebrews, and others, 
which will hereafter be mentioned, were first written 
in the vernacular Syriac of the Jews, and were after- 
ward translated into Greek; and that other portions, 
perhaps most of the books, were duplicated, at the 
time they were written, by their authors, or under 
their direction, — one copy being furnished to those 
who were familiar with the Greek, and another to 
those who knew only the Syriac. 

2. The reason why such a strong partiality has 
been shown to the Greek, over all others, by the trans- 
lators and revisers of our English versions, and the 
true reading of disputed passages has been determined 
almost wholly by the most reliable of the Greek man- 
uscripts, is easily accounted for, when we consider the 
commanding position which was held by the language 
and the philosophy of the Greeks, in the early ages of 
the Church. The almost universal prevalence of this 
language — supplemented by the Latin, which after- 
ward came into vogue — as the classical language of 
religion, of literature and of science, the knowledge 

1* 



IN THE SYFtlAC NEW TESTAMENT. 9 

of which was indispensable to a liberal education, has 
tended to this result. 

The Christian Church came early, after the days of 
the Apostles, under the influence, not merely of the 
Greek language, but of the philosophy of the Greeks. 
The tendency in this direction was apparent even in 
the times of the Apostles. It was against this very 
influence that Paul so often, and earnestly warned the 
early Christians; "Beware lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradi- 
tion of men, after the rudiments of the world, and 
not after Christ." "Avoid profane and vain bab- 
blings, and oppositions of science, falsely so-called, 
which some professing, have erred concerning the 
faith." "I fear lest by any means, as the serpent 
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds 
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in 
Christ." Almost immediately after the Pentecostal 
ingathering into the Church, we find a murmuring 
among the Grecians against the Hebrews, " because 
their widows were neglected in the daily ministra- 
tions." In order to satisfy them, and to make sure that 
they were properly cared for, seven men, all of whom 
bear Grecian names, were chosen deacons. Though 
Stephen, one of them, contended so boldly with " the 
Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and them 
of Asia and Cilicia, that they were not able to resist 
the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke," yet we 
find them coming more and more under the influence 
of these and other worldly factions, and it was not 
long before the Grecian philosophy had become domi- 
nant and controlling. Their schools of literature, and 
especially of theology, were Grecian schools. Gre- 
cian philosophers became their teachers and leaders. 
This was the language they used in their lectures, and 
other discourses. Meanwhile the vernacular of the 
Jewish converts, even in Syria, fell more and more 
into desuetude, and at length became so nearly obso- 
lete as a spoken language, that their Syriac Scriptures, 
that continued to be read in their Churches, needed 
some one to interpret them to the people. For it is a 



10 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

matter of history, that they had the Scripture canon? 
in this language, even before the close of the First 
Century ; and they have always clung to it with great 
tenacity, down to modern times. 

The first one or two generations after the time of 
Christ are almost barren of any Christian literature 
that is now extant : but after this, came Justin, The- 
ophihis, IrenaBus, Athenagoras, Origen, and others, 
whose Greek manuscripts, that have been preserved, 
contain numerous Scripture citations. Greek copies 
of the Scriptures, in whole or in part, were greatly 
multiplied during these early and subsequent ages of 
the Church, before the invention of printing, so that 
there are said to be known to European scholars, some 
sixteen hundred, or more of them, now in existence. 
It is also said that citations from these early copies are 
so abundant, in the writings of the Fathers, that, if all 
of the originals were to be destroyed, it would be possi- 
ble to restore the whole of the New Testament from 
their writings. Latin versions from the Greek were 
also very early made, as early probably, as the begin- 
ning of the Second Century, and many of them, 
though very imperfect, became quite numerous, espe- 
cially in the Western Churches. 

When we take into account the fact that versions of 
the Scripture in languages, other than the Greek and 
and Latin, were comparatively rare, and but little 
known in Europe, and the languages in which they 
were written were not generally cultivated by biblical 
scholars, it is not difficult to understand why the Latin 
and the Greek, especially the latter, have had such a 
paramount influence in determining the rendering of 
our English version. "It is admitted by critics that 
the learned men of Europe were ignorant of the very 
existence of a New Testament in Syriac, until 1552, 
when they heard of it at Rome, from Moses of Mardin. 
They then took steps to get an edition of it, and the 
cost was borne by the Emperor of Germany, Ferdi- 
nand I. But for nearly fifteen centuries, the Syrian 
Christians had firmly adhered to it as a truly apos- 
tolic document. It is true, more than one attempt 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 11 

was made to break through their attachment to it, and 
win them over to a Greek representation of apostolic 
teaching, but it could not succeed. They knew their 
ground too well to suffer either Philocenias, in the 
sixth century, or Thomas of Heraclea, with his bun- 
dle of Greek manuscripts gathered at Alexandria in 
Egypt, in 616, to win them over to another Testament. 
The adhesion of the Syrian Churches from the begin- 
ning, for eighteen centuries till now, has been as 
constant and as cordial, as ever happened to any New 
Testament in the World. But this statement is far 
too feeble, for to no other version, or text, has there 
been any such unswerving adhesion." * 

When Dr. James Murdock undertook the transla- 
tion of the Syriac (Peshito) New Testament into 
English, in 1845, he supposed, as he tells us, that lie 
was producing the first translation of these Syriac 
Scriptures into English, that had ever been made. It 
was not until he had completed it, that he learned that 
an English gentleman, Mr. J. W. Etheridge, was en- 
gaged in the same task.f 

But now as the Peshito is becoming better known, 
and its great antiquity — even if it does not ante-date 
all other texts — is universally admitted, its value as 
an auxiliary to the interpretation of Scripture, is con- 
ceded by all competent scholars. 

3. It would seem to have a claim to equal, if not 
paramount authority, in determining the reading of 
disputed passages. For it is to be remembered, that 
the Syriac was the vernacular of the Jews, in the 
time of our Lord, and the very language which He 
used in addressing them, as well as the language of 

* Mr. James Holding, an English scholar, from one of whoso articles, in 
the Rainbow, London, the above paragraph is cited, has given me some 
valuable suggestions in these articles on this question. I have followed 
him in the English orthography of certain Syriac words. 

t There are three different Syriac versions of the New Testament: The 
Peshito, The Philoxenian, and The Hierosolymitan. Dr, Murdock's Eng- 
lish version is made from the first, which is not only the oldest, but alto- 
gether the most reliable. The term Peshito meanst clear, explicit, easy to 
be understood. I take this occasion to acknowledge my great indebtedness 
to this version. It has been constantly before, me in preparing this paper, 
though I have not always adopted his verbal renderings. 



12 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

His Apostles in addressing the people of Palestine. 
In the record which was made of the words of Christ 
by the Evangelists in the four Gospels, they would 
naturally, if not necessarily, first write them out in 
the very language He employed. Even if it could be 
shown that any of them wrote their narrative in 
Greek, they would, even in this case, be under the 
necessity of translating His words from the Syriac in 
which He spoke, into the Greek, and then, instead of 
the original, we should have but a translation at best. 
But it is by no means to be taken for granted that 
these sacred writers gave such signal and exclusive 
preference to the Greek, over their own tongue, as is 
generally supposed. 

The question as to each of these books cannot here 
be considered in detail ; but it may be summarily said 
that, it is generally conceded that Matthew wrote 
his Gospel in Syriac ; for it was written expressly for 
the Hebrews. This is the opinion of Papias, Euse- 
bius, Epiphaneus, Jerome, and of other Fathers, as 
well as of not a few modern scholars, and even those 
who give their preference to the Greek, admit that a 
Syriac copy might have been prepared at the same 
time. It is the opinion of Olshausen, that Matthew 
prepared two copies, either by his own hands, or by 
the assistance of others, one in Syriac for the Hebrews, 
and the other in Greek for those who required it. 

As for Mark and Luke, neither of whom were of 
the twelve Apostles, but as the associates of Paul, were 
probably familiar with the Greek tongue, and who 
wrote more especially for the Gentiles, it is not unrea- 
sonable to suppose that they would furnish transcripts 
for the Syrian Christians in their own tongue. Euse- 
bius supposes, that Mark, whom tradition credits with 
having been Peter's companion and interpreter, wrote 
his Gospel from the dictation of that Apostle. 

I have never seen any good reason for supposing, 
with some, that John wrote his Gospel in his extreme 
old age, sixty or seventy years after the death of 
Christ. He records more of our Lord's words than 
all the other Evangelists together. It is not possible, 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 13 

without a miracle, that he should have remembered 
them so long, and been able to record them so minute- 
ly, nor is it reasonable to suppose, that he would 
have deferred this duty to so late a period. I am 
inclined to believe, with Drs. Lardner, Owen, Micha- 
elis, and others, that it was written about the year 
65 : and with Salmatius, Grotius, Bolton, and others, 
that he first composed it in Syriac, for it is only in 
this language he could give the very words of our 
Lord Himself. There is no objection to believing, 
however, that at the same time, or soon afterward, 
another copy was prepared in Greek. 

We notice in the Greek manuscripts of all the Gos- 
pels, but more especially in that of Mark, the occur- 
rence of Syriac idioms, and words, with an explanation 
introduced, by way of parenthesis, which would be 
quite natural in translating from this language to 
another, in the case of words and phrases that could 
not well be exactly rendered, or that were more em- 
phatic in the original. Thus, we are told, in our 
Greefc versions, that Christ said to the maid, when He 
restored her to life, Talitha-cumi, and then, in paren- 
thesis, in the Greek version we are informed that this 
means Damsel arise: but no such explanation is given 
in the Syriac, or original, for the very good reason 
that it is not needed, for it is all in the same language : 
and so when He said Ephatha, to the deaf man, Ave 
are told in the Greek, that it means Be opened: and 
so of Abba, that it means Father, and of Corban, that 
it means Gift, of Raca, that it means Fool, and Gol- 
gotha, a skull, etc. These are all Hebrew- Syriac 
words, which appear to have been transferred un- 
changed from the original manuscript, into the Greek, 
with a parenthetical explanation. Both Matthew and 
Mark record the dying words of our Lord, just as He 
uttered them; Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani, and then, 
in the Greek copy or version of Mark's Gospel, we are 
informed, in Greek, that these words mean, My God, 
My God, why hast thou forsaken me? 

There is no question, but that scattered manuscripts 
of the several books of the New Testament, in Greek, 



14 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

were in existence very early, for the Fathers quote 
from them, — but there is no evidence that any at- 
tempt was made to collect them into one code, or 
canon, till after the Second or Third Century. But it 
is certain, on the other hand, that the Syrian Churches 
had their canon long before this collection was made ; 
tradition says, between the years 55 and 60, and that 
this was done by the Apostle Jude. This canon is 
known to have contained all the books now included 
in our New Testament, excepting the Apocalypse, 
and the brief Epistles of 2d Peter, 2d and 3d John, 
and Jude. This tradition is strongly corroborated 
by the fact, that these closing portions of our present 
canon were not then written ; and this is a good 
and sufficient reason why they were not included in 
the first collection. The abrupt closing of the Book of 
Acts — for it was evidently written at about that time 
— that it might be ready for inclusion in this collec- 
tion, goes to confirm the tradition as to the date of 
this collection. The Apocalypse and the four.short 
Epistles which were not in readiness to be included at 
that early date, were afterward received into the 
Syriac Canon, but not till the sixth century. 

By whom this first collection of Syriac manuscripts 
was made, must be a matter of conjecture and infer- 
ence. It has been supposed by some writers, and not 
without reason, that the editing was done by the 
Apostle Jude, and that he was assisted in the labor of 
collecting them from their various sources by Silas, 
the companion of Paul, and that we are indebted to 
him, and not to Paul, for the Epistle to the Hebrews. 
That this Epistle was written first in the vernacular 
of the Syrian Christians is very generally conceded. 
It is not improbable that Paul, though he might have 
written most, or all of his Epistles in Greek, — which 
he was well able to do, — would have taken care that the 
Syrian Christians and others, who spoke the Syriac 
language, should be furnished with copies which they 
could read. For while Paul and the other writers 
addressed their manuscripts to particular Churches or 
classes of persons, w T riting under inspiration, they evi- 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 15 

dently wrote for the Church at large, not Only in 
their own clay, but for all coming time ; and if their 
writings ay ere needed in more than one tongue to 
make them more generally useful, it is not unreason- 
able to believe that they would take some pains to 
provide for this want. Indeed, we see that Paul, in 
writing to the Colossians gives special directions, that 
his Epistle be read also in the Church at Laodicea, and 
vice versa. 

That my own conclusions as to the importance and 
authoritative character of the Syriac New Testament 
may not seem to be peculiar to myself, and without good 
reason, let me refer to what some others, who have 
made this subject a special study, and whose opinions 
are not to be despised, have said in regard to it: 

"It may be noticed that we write Syriac readings, and not 
renderings, and I his we do advisedly, for we wish to avoid 
words which would lead the reader to think that we admit 
that his Syriac is only a version from Greek. We see proof 
ever augmenting that the Peshito is no translation, but an 
original production of the first writers, slightly revised, per- 
haps, and enriched, by here and there, a note from the pen 
of inspired revisers, but in its main bulk, the work of those 
holy men whom Jesus told the Jews, in His last public dis- 
course, would yet appear and make a final appeal to the 
nation before its final overthrow. These were His words: 
"Behold 1 send you prophets, wise men and writers." This 
last part of His intended gifts is obscured to our people, when 
translators retain the word " Scribes," and this antiquated 
Latinism is retained in the revised New Testament. The 
Saxon word, Writers, is better known, and of more modern 
use. Is there not a little pedantry, in our learned revisers 
reproducing the half-antiquated word. Scribes f It was not 
such a class of men as the Jewish Scribes that Jesus meant 
to send, but men who could write His memoirs, and direct 
the faith and practice of His people." James Holding. 

"The Peshito is the very best translation of the Greek 
Testament that I have ever read. The affinity of the Syriac 
to the dialect of Palestine is so great as to justify, in some 
respects, the assertion that the Syriac translator has record- 
ed the actions and speeches of Christ, in the very language 
in which He spoke. The difference between the dialect 
which was spoken by Christ, and that of the Syriac transla- 
tor, consisted almost wholly in the mode of pronouncing. 
It is natural to suppose, from its great antiquity, that it 
must deviate in many cases from the Greek manuscripts, the 
oldest of which were written above four hundred years later, 



16 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

and are mostly the productions of countries remote from 
Syria." Michaelis. 

" Let those who speak lightly of this version, know that 
the Syriac, if not the very language in which Christ Himself 
conversed with His Apostles, approaches very nearly to the 
vernacular tongue of our Savior, and His companions, and 
that into it the recent books of the New Testament were the 
first of all translated, and that, too, at the very time when 
the Apostles were laying the first foundation of the Chris- 
tian Church among the nations. I admit that it is a version, 
but it is the first and most ancient of all versions. It is to 
be preferred before all others, as being more authentic raid 
more correct. Made either by some one of the Evangelists, 
or certainly by one of those who had the Apostles present 
with them at Antioch, whom they could consult, and hear 
speak on many of the obscure passages. And therefore to 
this version only enn we safely go, when any obscurity or 
difficulty occurs in the original Greek. This only can be 
safely consulted, and relied upon, whenever there is doubt 
respecting the import or rendering of any passage." Pro- 
fessor Martini. 

" This version, all the learned pronounce, and declare to 
be the purest of all versions, and doubtless it was so exactly 
transferred by holy men, because Christ spoke and dis- 
coursed in the Syriac language; so that we cannot doubt, 
that the Apostles and apostolical men carefully inquired 
after and laid up the very words of Christ, and with holy 
veneration endeavored to record them in their version. . . . 
Among all the versions of the New Testament, that which 
holds the first rank, and is the most exact, felicitous and 
divine, is certainly the Syriac, which, undoubtedly, was most 
faithfully handed down by apostolical men, who remembered 
well the recently uttered words of Christ and His Apostles, 
and understood their meaning. For Christ Himself used 
this language." Professor Francius. 

" It is entirely consonant with truth, that this version was 
formed at the very commencement of the Christian Church, 
either by the Apostles themselves, or by their disciples; 
unless we should suppose, that, in writing they had regard 
only to strangers, and cared little or nothing for their own 
countrymen." Emanuel Tremelius. 

" From these most ancient versions we infer that this lan- 
guage is of the highest importance, because the writers of 
the New Testament to whom this language was vernacular, 
first preached the Divine Oracles in it to the Jews and the 
nations around them, and afterward wrote them out in Greek, 
yet retaining the spirit of the Syriac. Nay, it was the ver- 
nacular of the Lord and Savior Himself. He drew it in 
with His mother's milk, and in it the Only-begotten Son of 
God revealed to the world the will of God and the express 
promise of Eternal Life. This language He consecrated by 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 17 

His holy lips; in this language He taught the doctrines of 
the Gospel; in it He offered His prayers to che Father, laid 
open the mysteries hidden from the world, and heard the 
voice of the Father coming from heaven ; so that we may 
say, Lingua hominum est Lingua nobilitata Dei." Bryan 
Walton. 

Dr. Murdock, who cites some of the above-men- 
tioned authors and others, says : " The great value of 
this translation depends on its high antiquity, on the 
competence and fidelity of the translators, and on the 
near affinity of its language to that spoken by our 
Lord and His Apostles. In all these respects it stands 
pre-eminent among the numerous versions of the New 
Testament." Prof. Bolton, in his German translation 
of the Epistles, maintains that nearly all the Epistles 
must have been first composed by the Apostles in Ara- 
mean, their native tongue, and then committed by 
them to some of their Gerecizing companions, by 
whom they were translated into Greek before their 
publication. Bertholdt expresses the same opinion. 
He thinks that, after due time for reflection, the 
learned world will generally come to it, for such a 
hypothesis does not militate against the authority of 
the Greek, because it supposes the Greek translation 
to have been made by the special direction of the 
Apostles, and to have been inspected and fully 
approved by them. But it does show us that the 
Syriac version may be something more than a mere 
translation, and may have nearly or quite equal 
authority with Greek. 

Dr. Ezra Stiles, late President of Yale College, in 
his Inaugural Address, says : " Kindred with this [the 
Hebrew] is the Syriac, in which the greater part of 
the JVeio Testament, I believe, was originally written, 
and not merely translated, in the Apostolic age. The 
Syriac New Testament, therefore, is of high authority ; 
nay, with me, of the same authority as the Greek." 
As for myself, without making any pretension of unus- 
ual scholarship, I cannot but concur in the opinion of 
tltese two last cited authorities. 

4. Though there is found to be a substantial agree- 
ment between the Syriac and the Greek Scriptures, on 



18 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

all the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel; and 
though their differences are mainly with respect to the 
integrity of certain passages that are included in the 
one and not in the other, and as to the rendering of 
others that are found in both, yet no critical reader 
can fail to notice the greater prominence that is given 
to the central Gospel doctrine of Life, — Eternal 
Life only in Christ, in the Syriac Scriptures, and 
how much more emphatically, He is here set forth as 
— not merely the Savior, but as — the Life-Giver of 
men. 

It is true this great truth stands out very promi- 
nently in all our versions — it could not be otherwise 
in any fair version — but still, there is often an ambi- 
guity or vagueness of enunciation in the Greek, that is 
not found in the Syriac, and this is still greater in our 
English version that is made from the Greek. In the 
Greek, there are two words psuche and zoe that stand 
for " life " ; the former refers exclusively to our natu- 
ral, temporal life, and as such, is contrasted with natu- 
ral death; the latter is always employed when the 
higher life of the world beyond, which we receive 
only by a new birth, is in question, and to this the 
epithet aionios, signifying eternal, is commonly 
joined ; and to render it still more emphatic, the defi- 
nite article {he) "the" is prefixed; as he zoe aidnios 
" The Life Everlasting " ; and this higher life is con- 
trasted with the death that is final and remediless, 
otherwise called, "The Second Death." Now this 
word psuche occurs more than one hundred times in 
the Greek ISTew Testament, and always, invariably, 
refers to a life that is transitory in man or animals ; 
and the word zoe, either with or without the adjective 
signifying eternal, occurs, at least one hundred and 
fifty times, and is always employed when the divine, 
higher life is spoken of, and scarcely in any other 
sense. It seems to have been set apart and conse- 
crated to this special end in the Scriptures, of setting 
forth the peculiar life of the children of God by a new 
birth. But unfortunately, we have but the one word 
life, — unless the word soul, which is quite ambiguous, 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 19 

be used, — in our English version by which to desig- 
nate these two sorts of life, and consequently, the 
English reader often fails to observe the broad, and 
indeed, the infinite distinction there actually is 
between them. The Greek, therefore, in the clearness 
with which this distinction is indicated, is much supe- 
rior to our English version. But the Syriac is much 
superior to both, in its treatment of the words Save, 
Savior, Salvation, bearing on the same general ques- 
tion. For Salvation may have respect either to this 
life, or the life to come ; for example : When the dis- 
ciples, in the tempest on the sea of Galilee, came to 
Jesus in their distress saying, " Lord save us ; we 
perish," or when Peter, who was trying to walk on the 
same sea, on another occasion, cried out, "Lord, save 
me," the salvation in question was evidently a tem- 
poral salvation, a rescue from bodily peril; and Christ 
may be called their Savior without any regard to His 
higher prerogative, as the Savior of sinners. But 
when the Samaritans said of Him, at the well of 
Sychar, " This is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the 
world," or when one asked Him, " Lord, are there few 
that be saved ? " that higher salvation, which it is the 
express object of the Gospel to announce through 
Christ, is evidently meant. 

Here then, there are two sorts of salvation, a lower 
and physical, and a higher and spiritual salvation 
spoken of in the Scriptures. In the Syriac they are 
always distinguished by separate words; but in the 
Greek, and in our version, which follows the Greek, 
they are both included under one broad term. Thus 
we have sdzo y to save ; Soter, Savior ; Soteria, salva- 
tion. But in the Syriac, the higher act of saving to 
eternal life, the agent by which it is effected, and the 
great salvation itself, are all designated by the use of 
the root word Khya denoting Life-giving, the Life- 
Giver, the gift of Life, and when a mere rescue or 
deliverance of any sort is spoken of, another word is 
employed, as parak, parakna, or some other word to 
express it. 

As our version is made from the Greek, the same 



20 THE GOSPEL OF LIEE 

ambiguity in the use of the words "to Save," " Savior," 
"Salvation," runs through our English Scriptures. 
Indeed, the ambiguity is still greater, for while two 
separate words in the Greek are employed to distin- 
guish between our physical life and the new life of 
the world to come ; viz. : psuche and zoe, we have in 
English, as we have seen, but the one word " life? to 
express them both. But as I have remarked at length 
on this point elsewhere,* I pass on to the more special 
object of this paper: The treatment of the words 
" Save," " Savior," " Salvation," in the Syriac, com- 
pared with what is found in the Greek and English 
versions. This is a point to which sufficient attention 
has not been given, by those who have discussed this 
question of Immortality or Eternal .Life only in 
Christ. 

5. It is ngreed on all hands that we are saved by 
Christ, that He is a great Savior, and this salvation 
is a great salvation. But when we come to consider 
the nature of this salvation, we differ widely from our 
opponents. They assert that it is not from actual 
death and destruction to a new life that is everlasting ; 
for all men are by nature possessed of a life that is 
everlasting. It is therefore from sin and misery ever- 
lasting, that men are saved. But when we turn to the 
Syriac Scriptures, which record the very words of our 
Lord and of His immediate followers, we find this 
salvation spoken of not as a mere rescue, or deliver- 
ance from evil, but also as the irnpartation of a Life. 
Christ is set forth not simply as a Savior ; He is all 
this, but He is infinitely more, He is a Life-Giver. 
And when sinners are saved, they are not simply res- 
cued from sin and misery or from death, but a new 
life, a divine life, the life of the Savior which is im- 
mortal, is imparted to them. If then, due credit be 
given to the Syriac Scriptures, our opponents can no 
longer find shelter under those ambiguous terms, in 
the Greek and English versions, nor evade the issue to 
which we would hold them ; that the Salvation of the 

* See The Life Everlasting: The Unspeakable Gift; Life and Death in the 
New Testament, etc. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 21 

Gospel is not a mere rescue, recovery or deliverance ; 
it is all this, but infinitely more, it is pre-eminently 
The Gift of Eternal Life through Jesus Christ 
our Lord, the only Life-Giver of perishing 

MEN. 

I have gone carefully through the Greek New Tes- 
tament, and noted every instance of the occurrence of 
either of the words sSozo, Soter, or Soteria, and com- 
pared each passage with the parallel passage in the 
Syriac Peshito, and will now submit the result of this 
examination to the consideration of those who are 
interested in this inquiry. I find that the verb sozo, 
to save, under its various inflections occurs eighty- 
seven times; the noun Soter^ Savior, eighteen times;, 
the noun Sbteria ovSoterion, Salvation, thirty-seven 
times. It will be hardly necessary to cite every case, 
where the same thought and form of expression are 
repeated. But I will cite the great majority of the 
cases — indeed, all that involve anything new, or that 
call for any special notice. 

I. MATTHEW. 

Syriac. 
1: 21 Thou shalt call His He win cause to LlvE 
name JesuMor He will (so- in (or resusoitate) His 

seDsave His people from p | pi e from their sins, 
their sms. ^ r 

That is to say, He will give them life again from 
the death, which is the penalty of sin. This agrees 
with the words " The wages of sin is death ; but the 
gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." 

8: 25 And the disciples Saying " Our Lord (patsyn) 
came to Him and awoke Him deliver us ; we are perishing." 
saying: "Lord (soson) save 
us, we perish." 

In this case, it was merely temporal rescue or deliv- 
erance, they asked, and so it is the lower word {pat- 
sah) that is employed. 



22 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

9 : 21 For she said within She had said in her mind, 

herself, If I may but touch "If I but touch His gar- 

His garment, I shall be (so- ment I shall be cured." And 

thesomai) whole. Jesus turned Him and looked 

22 But Jesus turned Him at her, and said: Take cour- 

about, and when He saw her, age my daughter, thy faith 

He said, Daughter, be of hath given thee Life, and 

good comfort; thy faith hath the woman was cured from 

made thee (sesoke) whole, that very hour. 
And the woman was made 
(esothe) whole from that hour. 

Here, while in the Greek the word sozo is used three 
times ; the first and the last times referring to a bod- 
ily cure or deliverance, and the second only to the 
higher gift that was bestowed in answer to faith ; we 
have in the Syriac two words to indicate this differ- 
ence, and the higher word denoting the Life of the 
world to come, is employed only in the second instance. 

10: 22 And ye shall be He that shall endure to the 
hated of all men for my end shall have Life. 
name's sake: but he that 
endureth to the end shall be 
(sothesetai) saved. 

There is no temporal deliverance promised to the 
persecuted in this passage ; the promise has evident 
reference to the Eternal Life of the world to come. 
This is made apparent in the Syriac, but not in the 
Greek. 

14: 30 But when he saw And he raised his voice 
the wind boisterous, he was and said: "Lord, rescue me.' ' 
afraid; and beginning to 
sink, he cried, saying, Lord, 
(soson) save me. 

It was evidently a bodily or temporal rescue that 
Peter asked for in this case, and this is all that is indi- 
cated in the Syriac. 

18: 11 For the Son of man For the Son of man hath 
is come to (sosai) save that come to give Life to that 
which was lost. which was lost. 

Here again, it appears in the Syriac, but not in the 
Greek, that the object of Christ in coming to the 
world was, not simply to save or rescue men from evil, 
but to bestow the boon of Life upon those who had 
forfeited everything by sin. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 23 

19: 25 When His disciples Who then can attain to 
heard it, they were exceed- (khya) Life ? 
ingly amazed, saying, Who 
then can be (sothenai) saved? 

This is the exclamation of the disciples after hear- 
ing what Christ said to the young man, who came to 
inquire " What good thing shall I do that I may have 
(zden aionion) eternal life ? " and when the young man 
had gone away sorrowful, He took occasion to tell 
them how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. This calls forth their excla- 
mation of surprise, as above. It is evident that they 
understood by having eternal life and entering into 
the kingdom of heaven, the same thing. This is made 
to appear by the use of the higher word in the Syriac, 
but in the Greek it is vaguely called being saved. 

24: 13 But he that shall He that shall persevere to 
endure unto the end, the the end shall have Life. 
same shall be (sothesetai) 



Here again, the true nature of this salvation is 
declared only in the Syriac. It is not a mere rescue 
or salvation from sin and consequent misery, but it is 
the bestowment of an actual gift — the gift of Life 
that is promised. 

27: 40 Thou that destroy- Destroyer of the temple 

est the temple, and buildest and Builder of it in three 

it in three days, (soson) save days; deliver thyself, if thou 

thyself. If thou be the Son art the Son of God and come 

of God, come down from the down from the cross, 
cross. 

42 He (esozen) saved oth- He gave Life to others [or 

ers; Himself He cannot (so- rather professed to do it], 

sai) save. His own life He cannot save. 

49 The rest said, Let be, Desist: we will see if Eli- 
let us see whether Elias will jah will come to rescue Him. 
come to [sozon) save Him. 

Here we have the Greek verb sbzo four times 
repeated by those who mocked Christ on the cross. 
In the first and last cases, they are speaking only of a 
rescue or deliverance from the cruel death they are 
inflicting upon Him ; in the other two cases, they are 
taunting Him with the doctrine He had preached con- 



24 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

cerning the life of the world to come, and concerning 
Himself as the Giver of that life. These two ideas 
are not distinguished in the Greek, but in the Syriac, 
they are kept distinct by the use of two separate 
words. For in the first and last cases, a word signify- 
ing rescue is used, but in the other two cases the word 
signifying the impart ati on of Life is employed. 

II. MARK. 

It will not be important to re-cite under this Gospel 
the cases occurring in the parallel passages in Mat- 
thew, unless some peculiarity attaches to them. 

Syriac. 
5: 23 My little daughter Come and j tl hand 
lieth at the point of death: on her and she > m g e cured 
I pray thee come and lay thy and m liye> 
hands on her that she may 
be (sothe) healed; and she 
shall live. 

The ruler of the synagogue desired simply the 
restoration of his daughter to health, her rescue from 
the fatal effects of her disease, and our translators 
have very properly rendered the Greek word sozo, — 
not saved as they have usually done, but — "healed," 
and this is the word (khalam) that is employed in the 
Syriac. 

The story of the woman who "was made whole," 
into which the above incident is interpolated by way 
of episode, has already been noticed in Matt 9 : 21. 

6: 56 And whithersoever And all they that touched 
He entered, into villages, or Him were healed. 
cities, or country, they laid 
the sick in the streets, and 
besought Him that they 
might touch if it were but 
the border of His garment: 
and as many as touched Him 
were made {esozonto) whole. 

Here also our translators have very properly ren- 
dered the verb sbzo, " made whole," instead of, were 
saved, as it is in the Greek ; so it is healed in the 
Syriac also. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 25 

10: 52 And Jesus said Thy faith hath procured 
unto him, Go thy way; thy thee Life. 
faith hath made thee {sesoke) 
whole. And immediately he 
received his sight, and fol- 
lowed Jesus in the way. 

Our English revision has rendered the Greek word 
sozo " made whole," but the Syriac text reads, " hath 
procured thee Life." The restoration of his sight, or 
rather the cure of his blindness, was all this man 
asked or expected, but on account of his faith, our 
Lord gave him — as he often did to those who had 
faith in Him — more than he sought — even the Life 
of the Gospel. 

It will be observed that hitherto we have found only 
the verb sozo, " to save," or " to be saved," but in the 
cases that are to follow, we shall find the noun Soter, 
which is translated "Savior" in our version, but 
which in the Syriac is Life-Giver ; and also the noun 
soteria which we translate " salvation," but which in 
the Syriac reads Life, the life which the Life-Giver 
bestows. 

III. LUKE. 

Syriac. 
1 : 47 And my spirit hath My spirit is rejoicing in 
rejoiced in God my {Soteri) God my Life-Giver. 

(Savior. 

This is a part of the " magnificat " of Mary on her 
visit to Elizabeth. Commenting on this, Holding 
says : " Could the doctrine of natural immortality and 
eternal pain have lived beside the constant joy of a 
people who sang of God having sent His Son into the 
world, ' that all men might live through Him' ? Surely 
Ave have suffered much in the conception of the high 
meaning of the Gospel, by using ' Savior ' instead 
of Life-Giver. This word has for its root, hhya^ 
preceded by mem, the characteristic of the participle, 
and also used to form a noun from the verb, and then 
the possessive noun follows the root, ' my Life-Giver.' " 
2 



26 THE GOSPEL OF LIEE 

1: 69 And hath raised up And hath raised up a horn 

an horn of (soterias) salva- of deliverance for us in the 

Hon for us, in the house of house of David, His servant. 
His servant David. 

71 That we should be That we should be deliv- 

{soterian) saved from our ene- ered from our enemies, 
mies, and from the hand of 
all that hate us ; 

77 To give knowledge of To give the knowledge of 

(soterias) salvation unto His Life to His people, by the 

people, by the remission of remission of their sins, 
their sins. 

Here in the Greek, we have the word Soteria, Sal- 
vation three times. In the first two cases, Zacharias 
evidently refers to a temporal or political deliverance 
— as it is rendered in our version — but in the last 
clause he speaks prophetically of the greater gift of 
Life through Christ. So in the Syriac, in the first 
two cases, we have porkina, paraka, words meaning 
simply redemption or deliverance, but in the last 
clause, the higher benefit — the gift of Life is plainly 
set forth by the word (Jchya) Life. 

2: 11 For unto you is For there is born to you, 

born this day, in the city of this day a Deliverer (Parokaj 

David, a {Soter) Savior, which who is the Lord Messiah, 
is Christ the Lord. 

These are the words in which the angel announced 
to the Shepherds the birth of Christ. The Jews had 
now come under the Roman power and severely felt 
the humiliation, and the burden of the taxation that 
Cesar Augustus had begun to levy upon them. They 
were looking for the Deliverer or bond breaker that 
had been so long foretold by their prophets. This 
was the joyful news that was now made known to 
them, — that He had actually come, and was "this day 
born in Bethlehem." This was not intended to be 
a full declaration of His office and work. They were 
not yet ready for all this. They were told only just 
Avhat was first in their thoughts and desires. So the 
term of highest signification, u Life-Giver," is not here 
found in the Syriac — the lower word {Paroka) Deliv- 
erer only is employed. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 27 

7: 50 And He said to the Thy faith hath given thee 
woman, Thy faith hath [se- Life; go in peace. 
soke) saved thee ; go in peace. 

These are the cheering words of Jesus to the 
" woman that was a sinner," who so kindly and peni- 
tently ministered to Him in the house of Simon. 
They are the very words He also addressed to the 
woman whom He cured of the issue of blood, and to 
the blind man, to whom He gave sight. (Matt. 9 : 22 ; 
Mark 5 : 34.) They came to Him seeking only a 
temporal benefit, and carried away, on account of 
their faith, the infinitely higher blessing of Eternal 
Life. This is shown by the use of the higher word 
in the Syriac, but not in the Greek. 

8 : 12 Those by the way- And taketh away the word 
side, are they that hear; then out of their heart, that they 
cometh the devil, and taketh may not believe and Live. 
away the word out of tbeii 
hearts, lest they should be- 
lieve and be (sozosin) saved. 

Here again the Syriac, more clearly than the Greek, 
shows what the salvation of the Gospel is, viz. : Life, 
and how it is received through belief of the truth. 
This is just what Satan would prevent. 

Omitting several passages that have been consid- 
ered in the foregoing Gospels, we next note : 

13: 23 Then said one unto And a person asked Him 
Him, Lord, are there few that whether there were few who 
be {aozomenai) saved? would have Life. 

This is a noteworthy passage, both on account of 
the question asked, and the reply that our Lord made 
to it. It is evident from the context, that this is not 
a question simply of rescue from impending evil, but 
of heirship in the everlasting kingdom, that Christ had 
come to institute. For He goes on to tell those who 
heard Him, that many shall seek to enter in and shall 
not be able ; that they shall come from the East and 
from the West, and from the North and the South, 
and shall sit down in the kingdom — and they them- 
selves shall be thrust out. So we have, not simply 
saved, but Life in the Syriac. 



28 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

17: 19 And He said unto Arise, go, thy faith hath 
him Arise ; go thy way, thy given th.ee Life. 
faith hath (sesoke) made thee 
whole. 

This is a very unfortunate rendering in the English 
version ; and even in the Greek it is quite ambiguous. 
Our Lord had healed ten lepers, but only one of them 
turned back to give thanks, and to glorify God for the 
benefit conferred. To him our Lord replied that his 
faith had — surely not saved him or made him whole, 
as the Greek and English would seem to imply, in the 
sense of restoring him to health, but had — given him 
Life — the great Gospel blessing which it was Christ's 
special prerogative to confer — and was given only to 
those who exercised faith in Him. All these lepers 
had received the lower boon of restoration to health ; 
but only this one, the Samaritan had, through his faith, 
received the infinitely higher gift of Life at the hand 
of the Life-Giver. So it reads in the Syriac, the 
very language in which Christ spoke, " Thy faith hath 
given thee Life." 

19: 9 And Jesus said unto This day is Life to this 

him, This day is {soteria) sal- house; for he also is a son of 

vation come to this house, Abraham, 
forasmuch as he also is a son 
of Abraham. 

10 For the Son of man is For the Son of man came 

come to seek and to (sozai) to seek and to impart Life to 

save that which was lost. that which was lost. 

Such was the result of our Lord's visit to the house 
of Zaccheus. He was a son of Abraham according 
to the flesh, for he was a Jew ; but this did not con- 
stitute him an heir of the kingdom of heaven. It was 
only by faith — the same that Abraham exercised, that 
he could receive the Life of that kingdom. This 
faith he show T ed by bringing forth fruits meet for 
repentance. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 29 

IV. JOHN. 

Syriac. 
3: 14 And as Moses lifted * 
up the serpent in the wilder- 
ness, even so must the Son 
of man be lifted up : 

15 That whosoever believ- 
eth in Him should not perish, 
but have eternal life. 

16 For God so loved the 
world, that He gave His only 
begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever believethin Him, should 
not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life. 

17 For God sent not His That the world through 
Son into the world to con- Him might Live. 

demn the world, but that the 
world through Him might 
be (sotho) saved. 

This is one of the most important, among the many- 
very explicit passages in this Gospel, in its decisive 
bearing on the doctrine of Eternal Life only through 
Christ. That the full force of it, and the superiority 
of the Syriac to the Greek reading may be the more 
obvious, the two preceding verses have been cited to 
be read in connection with it. Although the nature 
of this salvation spoken of in verse seventeen, is 
shown to be a salvation — not simply from sin and 
misery, but exaltation to Everlasting life, by the pre- 
ceding verses, yet in the Syriac this is not left to be 
inferred, but is emphatically declared: — That the 
world through Him might have Life. 

4: 22 For {he Soteria) sal- For Life is from the Jews 
vation is of the Jews. 

This is the divinely appointed channel or medium 
through which salvation was to come. 

4: 42 And said unto the We know that He is truly 
woman, Now we believe, not the Messiah, the Life-Giver 
because of thy saying: for of the world, 
we have heard Him ourselves, 
and know that this is indeed 
the Christ, the (Soter) Savior 
of the world. 



30 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

The interview of Christ with the woman of Sama- 
ria, and with her fellow-townsman of Sychar, offers 
many interesting points for remark, bearing on this 
question of Life through Christ alone. I can notice 
only very briefly a few of them. The Samaritans 
were not Jews ; but they were mainly Hebrews, with 
a large intermixture of other races, that had been im- 
ported into the country by their conquerors. Though 
widely alienated from the Judeans, in their worship, 
and in social life, they still retained the books of 
Moses, the traditions of the Hebrews, and their forms 
of worship. They were, like the Jews, looking for 
the Messiah, but evidently without any true concep- 
tion of the spiritual nature of His mission. The gen- 
tle and effective way in which Jesus made Himself 
known to the woman at the well, as the Messiah, and 
enlightened her as to the true object of His mission, 
is very instructive. After exciting her surprise, by 
asking the gift of some water to drink, at her hands, 
He says : " If thou knewest the Gift of God, and who 
it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst 
have asked Him, and He would have given thee living 
water" — that is, the Water of Life. Then, when, in 
her astonishment she inquires, if He is greater than 
Jacob, from whom the well had been received, He 
replies : " Whosoever drinketh of this water shall 
thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that 
I shall give him, shall never thirst (will not thirst for- 
ever, Syriac), but the water that I shall give him, 
shall be in him a well of water springing up into 
Eternal Life." 

Having had awakened, in her mind, some ill-defined 
desire for such a wonderful gift, and some imperfect 
conception of Him, as the Giver, she begins to inquire 
about the true place or worship — a question in dis- 
pute between the Samaritans and the Judeans. Our 
Lord replies (verse 22 above) that the salvation (no- 
tice the definite article the) is of the Jews. Olshausen 
thinks that by this term " the salvation," is meant, the 
one bringing salvation, the Savior, is not of the Samar- 
itans, but of the Jews. The Syriac is still more 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 31 

explicit, for, instead of " the salvation," it reads The 
Life, or the Life-Giver is of the Jews. 

After receiving some further instruction concerning 
the spiritual nature of true worship, she says : " I know 
that the Messiah (which is called the Christ) when He 
cometh, will tell us all things." Note : The word 
Messiah is the Syriac word for "Anointed"; in the 
Greek it is " Christ." This parenthesis, explaining 
the meaning of the word Messiah, is not found in the 
Syriac — for it is not needed, — it has evidently been 
introduced by the Greek editors, and retained in our 
English version. And now the way having been fully 
prepared, Jesus declares Himself to be the Messiah. 
This is the first direct announcement He made to any 
one of Himself as the Messiah, the Christ, for whom 
the people were looking : and she, at once, as it would 
appear, believed on Him. And after her neighbors 
had been called, and had heard His words — for He 
remained two days with them — they too believed and 
said: " Now we know that He is truly the Messiah, 
the Life-Giver of the world. It is difficult to per- 
ceive how any one can so read, or rather mis-read this 
narrative, whether in the Greek or in our English ver- 
sion, so as to see in Christ nothing more than a Savior 
from sin and misery, or at most, a Giver of pardon 
and purity and happiness to repenting sinners. But 
reading it in the Syriac it would seem to be utterly 
impossible for any one to take Him to be anything 
less than the actual Giver of Eternal Life to per- 
ishing men. 

5 : 34 But I receive not But these things I say that 
testimony from man : but ye may Live. 
these things I say, that ye 
might be (sothete) saved. 

The chief topic of our Lord's discourse to the Jews, 
as recorded in this and the next following chapter, is 
The Life Eternal which God had provided for men, 
and which was now offered to them, through Himself, 
as the true Messiah. These words, though spoken on 
two different occasions, may be summarized as follows : 



32 THE GOSPEL OE LIFE 

" 1. That man has no principle of eternally enduring life 
in himself ; 

" 2. That God has given us Eternal Life in His Son ; 

" 3. That man's actual enjoyment of Eternal Life depends 
on the closest union with the Incarnate Life of God in Christ; 

"4. That the Eternal Life bestowed on us includes and 
requires the immortality of the whole humanity, and there- 
fore carries with it the Resurrection of the dead." (Life in 
Christ, p. 219.) 

After asserting most emphatically His own divine 
authority and power to raise the dead and to give life 
to whomsoever He will, and that he who honoreth not 
the Son honoreth not the Father who sent Him, and 
that as the Father hath Life in Himself, so hath He 
given the Son to have Life in Himself, and he who 
heareth and believeth His words hath Everlasting Life 
and shall not come into condemnation — He says in 
reply to their murmurs — " These things I say that ye 
may Live. So it reads in the language in which He 
spoke to them. Why these words should be changed 
in the Greek, and consequently in our version so as to 
read " that ye might be saved," I know not, unless it 
be to afford some apology, under this ambiguous word, 
for tehe dogma of the Grecian philosophy, that was so 
early injected into the creed of the Christian church, 
that this salvation is simply a rescue of immortal sin- 
ners from an endless life of sin and misery, and a 
restoration to the love and favor of God, and to a state 
of blessedness that is also endless. Such indeed, is the 
popular understanding of this word " saved," at the 
present time. But any unprejudiced reader of these 
remarkable discourses especially in the Syriac, cannot 
fail to perceive how utterly inconsistent this doctrine 
is with the whole tenor of our Lord's teaching, from 
beginning to end. The sixth long chapter, throughout, 
is a continual reiteration under a variety of illustra- 
tions, of this one leading theme. And what was the 
result? The very same as when this great Gospel 
truth is preached at the present day — They were 
offended. "From that time many of His disciples 
went back, and walked no more with Him-" And 
Jesus said to the Twelve, as all others were leaving 
Him, " Will ye also go away ? Peter replied, Lord, 



IN THE SYRIAC NEY7 TESTAMENT. 33 

to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of Eter- 
nal Life." 

Ah, men are willing enough to be told that Christ 
will save them from the consequences of their sins, if 
you will but grant them their favorite dogma of Im- 
mortality in their own right. If you will only natter 
them with the notion that they have never forfeited 
this — that they cannot forfeit it by sin — just what 
the Tempter told Eve — they are quite willing to 
listen. But when you tell them that they have no 
Eternal Life in themselres — that they must receive it 
as a Gift from God by repentance and faith in Christ, 
or they will utterly perish — they are offended — they 
will turn away from such preaching, as they did from 
Christ, when he preached this doctrine. 

" The doctrine of Immortality through the Incarnation, 
and of death eternal coming upon all men out of Christ, is 
the chief stumbling-block of the Gospel. It was the last 
truth for the church to learn, and the first for her to lose; — 
as it will be the last that she will consent to receive again by 
unlearning the notion which represents man's immortality 
as independent of Redemption." Edward White. 

10: 9 I am the door: by And if any man enter by 
me if any man enter in, he me he will Live. 
shall be [sothesetai) saved, and 
shall go in and out, and find 
pasture. 

The superior reading of the Syriac is here seen, as 
in other cases, and is still further confirmed by the 
verses following: "lam come that they might have 
Life, and that they might have it" — not more abun- 
dantly as in our old version, but as it is in the revis- 
ion — '■' abundantly," or in abundance, or as it is in 
the Syriac — "that life which is excellent." Our 
natural life is limited and transitory ; the Life that 
Christ gives is unlimited and ever enduring. 

11: 12 Then said His dis- Lord, if he sleepeth, he is 
ciplcs, Lord, if he sleep, he recovering. 
shall (sothesetai) do well. 

This was the reply made by the disciples to our 
Lord, when He had said to them, "Our friend Lazarus 
sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." 

2* 



34 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

The English rendering, " He shall do well," is better 
than the Greek, " He shall be saved," and so it reads 
in the Syriac, " He is recovering." For reference is 
here, not to the salvation of the Gospel, but to the 
recovery of his health ; hence the higher word (Khya), 
Life, is not employed, but the lower word, implying 
deliverance ; for the two ideas are always kept dis- 
tinct in the Syriac. 

12: 27 Now is my soul And what shall I say? My 

troubled; and what shall I Father, deliver me from this 

say? Father, (sozon) save hour? But for this cause 

me from this hour: but for came I to this hour, 
this cause came I unto this 
hour. 

The second clause in the above verse is to be read 
as an interrogation, as well as the first, as it is in the 
Syriac. Christ naturally shrinks from the dreadful 
death to which He is consciously hastening, and He 
inquires, shall I ask to be saved from it? — and imme- 
diately answers in the negative His own inquiry; 
" No " — " For this very purpose have I come." It is 
not a question of life simply, much less of the Life of 
the Gospel, but of a Salvation or rescue from the 
dreadful experience that awaits Him. He submis- 
sively resigns Himself even to this, because it is the 
will of the Father, and the very object for which He 
had been sent into the world, — to give His own life 
for the redemption of the world. The superiority of 
the Syriac to the Greek, in consistency and clearness, 
must be evident to every one. 

12: 47 And if any man But to give Life to the 
hear my words, and believe world (or vivify it), 
not, I judge him not: for I 
came not to judge the world, 
but to (sosu) save the world. 

This is the last occurrence of this word sbzb in this 
Gospel. It is almost identical with the first (3: 17). 
It needs no further comment. It is to be remarked 
that Life, Eternal Life, through Christ and through 
Him nlone, is the great leading theme of this Gospel. 
It is partly obscured in our version and in the Greek, 
which w T e have followed by the use of the words 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 35 

" Save," " Savior," " Salvation," when the words Sozo, 
Sbter and Sbteria occur in the Greek ; but still, it 
stands out so prominently in the word zbe; zbe aibnios; 
lie zbe aibnios, Life, Life Everlasting, the Life Ever- 
lasting, — repeated as it is, thirty-six times in this 
Gospel, and seventeen times in the other three Gos- 
pels, that it would seem to be impossible for any one 
to misapprehend it. It was the very first thought in 
the intercessory prayer of our Lord on the night 
before His crucifixion. 

" These words spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes to 
heaven and said: Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may 
also glorify thee: as thou hast given Him power over ail 
flesh, that He should give Eternal Life, to as many as 
thou hast given Him. And this is Eternal Life, that they 
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent." 

John, the writer of this Gospel, is so impressed 
with it, that he carries it into his chief Epistle, and 
makes it the leading thought there, and gives this 
emphatic record in the closing words of the Epistle : 

" This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal 
Life, and this Life is in His Son. He that hath the Son, 
hath Life, and he that hath not the Son, hath not Life." 



V. ACTS. 

In this book — undoubtedly written by Luke the 
writer of the third Gospel, — the same superiority of 
the Syriac to the Greek in expressing more explicitly 
the ideas which are translated " save," " Savior," 
u salvation," is apparent. It will not be important to 
cite every case. 

Syriac. 

2: 21 And it shall come And ifc hn b th t wh 

to pass, that whosoever shall eyer ^ R u ^ t he name 

call on the name of the Lord, f th L ^ h u LiyE 
shall be (sothesetai) saved. 

2: 47 Praising God. and And the Lord was gather- 
having favor with all the ing every day those who had 
people. And the Lord added partaken of . Life into the 
to the church daily such as church, 
should be (sozomenous) saved. 



36 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

The former of these two passages is a part of 
Peter's address on the day of Pentecost ; the latter 
gives the result of the outpouring of the Spirit on 
that day ; in both of which the nature of the salvation 
spoken of is unmistakably described in the Syriac. It 
is not a temporal salvation, but one that is spiritual 
and Eternal ; it is not merely a salvation from sin and 
misery, but also a salvation to Life ; and those who 
had become partakers of this new Life were gathered 
into the church. Would that only such now, and 
always, were gathered into the church ! 

4: 9 If we this day be By what means he was 

examined of the good deed healed. 
done to the impotent man; 
by what means he is made 
(.se^6/f«) whole. 

4: 12 Neither is there {so- Neither is there deliver- 

teria) salvation in any other: ance (or redemption from 

for there is none other name death) in any other, for there 

under heaven g»iven among is not another name under 

men, whereby we must (so- heaven which is given to 

thenai) be saved. men whereby to Live. 

In this narrative of the restoration of the impotent 
man, and Peter's defence of himself for his agency in 
the matter, the Greek words save and salvation occur 
three times. In the first instance it is very properly 
rendered in our version (not saved, but) " made whole," 
for he is speaking of the temporal or bodily cure of 
this man. But Peter now takes occasion to proclaim 
in the unwilling ears of these priests and rulers, the 
higher truth of the Gospel. Hence the radical dis- 
tinction between the lower and higher blessing, both 
of which are indeed from the same source, though the 
difference between them is not indicated in the Greek 
or English, but it is conspicuously brought out in the 
Syriac, by words that are radically distinct. 

5: 31 Him hath God ex- Him hath God exalted with 

alted with His right hand to His own right hand to be a 

be a Prince and a {Sot era) Prince and Life-Giver, for 

Savior, for to give repentance to give repentance and for- 

to Israel, and forgiveness of giveness of sins to Israel. 
sins. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 37 

This is a part of Peter's bold speech before the San- 
hedrim after his miraculous deliverance from prison, 
into which he had been cast with the other Apostles. 
The angel that delivered them, told them to go and 
speak all the words of (tes zoes tantes) this Life, and 
they went into the temple and began to preach as they 
had been bidden. And when the officers, the next 
morning, failing, to their astonishment, to find them 
in the prison, and to their greater astonishment, found 
them preaching the Word of Life, in the temple, they 
took them without violence, fearing the people, and 
brought them again before the council to answer for 
their disobedience. Then Peter addressed them in 
the words quoted above (see context 29-32 verses). 

" How fitting that Peter should call Him a ' Life-Giver,' 
both in view of what the angel who opened the prison doors 
bid the Apostles do, and also in view of his former words to 
the same council as noticed above (see 4: 12). It was Syriac 
or Syro-Chaldaic that Peter spoke, and no doubt but he used 
not boter, the Greek word for Savior, but Makhyna, Life- 
( iiver. Now how fitly one who knows the preaching of 
Christ to be a message of Life., calls its great Subject the 
Life-Giver." (Holding.) 

7: 25 For he supposed his That by his hand would 
brethren would have under- give them deliverance. 
stood how that God by his 
hand would (soterian, deliver- 
ance) deliver them: but they 
understood not. 

Stephen is here speaking of deliverance from their 
bondage in Egypt, and not of the salvation of the 
Gospel — certainly not of the boon of Eternal Life — 
and so the word soteria is very properly rendered, " to 
deliver," or " deliverance," in our version. So it is 
also expressed in the Syriac. 

11:14 Who shall tell thee Words by which thou shalt 
words, whereby thou and all Live. 
thy house (sothese) shall be 
saved. 

Peter is here giving an account of his mission to 
Cornelius, and what the angel had said of him to 
Cornelius. We learn from the Syriac what sort of 
salvation is meant, and what is necessary to it. In 



38 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

commenting on this passage, it has been well said by 
the author just cited : 

" If a company of modern teachers, whose reputation as 
leading men stands high, had sat in judgment on the ques- 
tion of character, as set forth in Luke's account of Cornelius, 
they would have decided that he was all right. Mark the 
points of excellence as briefly sketched by the historian. 
(1) He was a devout man {Syriac righteous man). (2) He 
was one who feared God. (3) He, like Abraham, taught 
all his house, children and servaDts to do the same, and suc- 
ceeded. (4) He did many righteous things among the 
people. He gave much alms, or showed active benevolence. 
(5) He prayed at all times. Surely, such a, man was one 
whom neither minister, apostle, nor angel need feel any 
concern about. But whatever men might have decided 
about Cornelius, God did not deem him safe without more 
light from Gospel teaching. And hence, an angel was sent 
to tell him what to do. And what he must do is to send for 
Peter who could preach to him. and his household words, 
by which they might lay hold on Life." 

Do not the Scriptures here teach us very plainly, 
that, no matter how moral a man may be — whether 
in heathen or in Christian lands, — he needs to know 
Christ and His Gospel in order to Salvation unto Eter- 
nal Life ? " How shall they believe in Him of whom 
they have not heard ? How shall they hear without a 
preacher? and how shall they preach except they be 
sent?" And when they (the objectors at Jerusalem), 
heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified 
God, saying : " Then hath God also, to the Gentiles 
granted repentance unto (zden) Life." 

13: 23 Of this man's seed God hath raised up to 
hath God, according to His Israel, as He hath promised, 
promise, raised unto Israel a Jesus, a Deliverer. 
[Sotera) Savior, Jesus: 

13:2G Men and brethren, To you is this word of Life 
children of the stock of Abra- sent, 
hnm, and whosoever among 
you foareth God, to you is 
the word of this (Soterias) 
Salvation sent. 

We have in this chapter an account of what Paul 
and Barnabas said to the Jews at Antioch (Pisidia) 
when they showed themselves unworthy of the Life 
that was offered them, and of the effect of their 
preaching to the Gentiles of that city. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 39 

Paul begins his address to the Jews, not by speak- 
ing at once of Christ in the higher sense, as the Giver 
of Life, — but not to offend their prejudices, he first 
speaks of Him, simply as a Deliverer — as is evident 
from the Syriac (verse 23). Then after having gained 
their favorable attention, he goes on to say more 
explicitly, " To you is this word of Life sent." The 
Gentile part of his audience seem to have been espe- 
cially impressed by his address on the first Sabbath ; 
and so, after the Jews had retired, they requested that 
this truth might be further expounded to them on the 
next Sabbath. This excited the envy of the Jews, 
and stirred them up to violent opposition. " On the 
next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to 
hear the word of God." There was great excitement. 
The Jews turned against the Apostles, " and spoke 
against those things which were spoken by Paul, con- 
tradicting and blaspheming." 

13: 46 Then Paul and But because ye repel it 

Barnabas waxed bold, and from yon, and decide against 

slid, Jt was necessary that yourselves, that ye are not 

the word of God should first worthy of Life Eternal, lo, 

have been spoken to you: we turn ourselves to the 

but seeing ye put it from Gentiles, 
you, and judge yourselves 
unworthy oi' Everlasting Life, 
lo, we turn to the Gentiles : 

47 For so huth the Lord For so hath our Lord corn- 
commanded us, saying, I manded us as it is written, I 
have set thee to be a light have set thee a light to the 
of the Gentiles, that thou Gentiles, that thou shouldest 
shouldest he for (soterian) be for Life unto the ends of 
salvation unto the ends of the the earth, 
earth. 

Here we have — instead of Soterian, Salvation, as 
it is in the Greek and English — the hio-her and more 
definite word Life in the Syriac, and this, it will be 
seen, agrees with what had just been said of " Ever- 
lasting Life " in verse 46. 

After their return to Antioch (Syria), a controversy 
springs up in the church with respect to imposing the 
Jewish rite of circumcision on the Gentile converts. 
Some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem had taught 
them, saying : 



40 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

15: 1 Except ye be cir- Except ye be circumcised, 
cumcised after the manner ye cannot have Life. 
of Moses, ye cannot be (so- 
thenai) saved. 

So a delegation was sent down to Jerusalem to 
inquire of the church there, "about this question." 
After much controversy, Peter closed the discussion, 
in a very catholic and liberal speech which concludes 
with these words : 

15: 11 But we believe, We believe thnt we. as well 

that through the grace of the as they, are to have Life, by 

Lord Jesus Christ, we shall the grace of the Lord Jesus 

be {sothenai) saved, even as Messiah. 
they. 

Now in both of the above passages, instead of 
sothenai, to be saved, as it is in Greek and Eng- 
lish, we have in the Syriac the more explicit word, 
"have Life," showing what is meant by being saved. 

16: 17, 30, 31. ^The incidents of this Sixteenth 
chapter suggest many interesting topics for remark, 
but we must confine our attention to the one point in 
hand. The Greek noun soteria, salvation, occurs once 
in verse seventeen, and the verb sozo, to save, occurs 
twice in the thirtieth and thirty-first verses, under the 
following circumstances. Paul and Silas, in their mis- 
sionary tour, were now at Philippi. Here they were 
followed from day to day by a noisy damsel, a Pytho- 
ness, who continually cried, saying : 

16: 17 These men are the They announce to you the 
servants of the Most High way of Life. 
God, which shew unto us the 
way of (Soterias) Salvation. 

The apostles were unwilling to receive any patron- 
izing testimony from such a source. And so, after 
suffering this for many days — following their blas- 
ter's example, who rebuked the devils when they 
cried, saying, " Thou art Christ, the Son of God " 
(Luke 4: 4) — they turned and exorcised the spirit 
that possessed her. By doing this, they brought down 
on themselves the wrath of her masters, whose gain, 
by her soothsaying, was now at an end. The conse- 
quence was, they were cruelly beaten, and then cast 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 41 

into the inner prison, and their feet were made fast in 
the stocks. There, in their dark cavern, at midnight, 
while, in spite of their sufferings, they were singing 
praises to God, " suddenly there was a great earth- 
quake, so that the foundations of the prison were 
shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, 
and every one's bands were loosed." The jailer, who 
was responsible with his own life for the safe keeping 
of his charge, in the terror of the moment was about 
to do, what many men have done, to commit suicide — 
hoping to escape from present evils by flying to oth- 
ers we know not of, just what Brutus and Cassius did 
in this very city of Fhilippi, — when Paul interposed 
to prevent him. After he had become assured of the 
safety of his prisoners, and had had time for reflec- 
tion, better thoughts took possession of his mind. He 
thought of the character of these two men, and of 
what the damsel had said, " They teach the people 
the way of Life." Perhaps he had heard the mes- 
sage from their own lips. He thought of their unjust 
and cruel treatment, and of their wonderful demeanor 
through it all ; and of the miraculous interposition of 
heaven in their behalf. Sudden conviction seizes him. 
He trembles before these servants of God, as in the 
presence of God Himself. His only thought now, in 
this midnight hour, is not of the concerns of this life, 
but of the Life to come. " Then he called for a light, 
and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down be- 
fore Paul and Silas : " 

16: 30 And brought them My lords, what must I do 

out, and said, Sirs, what must that I may have Life? 
I do to be {soi.ho) saved ? 

31 And they said, Believe And they said to him, Be- 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and lieve on the name of our 
thou shalt (sothese) be saved, Lord Jesus Messiah, and thou 
and thy house. wilt have Life, thou and thy 

house. 

The mission of Paul and Silas to these Philippians 
was not to proclaim any temporal salvation, nor mere 
salvation of any kind, as many interpret the Gospel, 
but Life, Internal Life, through Jesus Christ. The 
damsel correctly characterized it as " The Way of 



42 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE 

Life." So the people understood it. So did the jailer. 
Hence, he did not simply ask, as might be inferred 
from our version, and from the Greek — what must I 
do to be saved ? but " What must I do that I may- 
have Life ? " that Life through Christ which you 
have come to announce. And their reply is equally 
explicit, "Believe on the name of our Lord Jesus 
Messiah, and thou wilt have Life, thou and thy 
house." Every one must observe how much more 
explicit is the Syriac than the Greek and English, in 
this case as well as in the many others that have been 
already noticed. 

There are several other cases in this book, for in- 
stance, in Chapter 27 : 20, 32, 34, where the words 
evidently refer to salvation in its lower and physical 
sense ; but as there is nothing jDeculiar in these cases, 
we need not stop to give them particular notice. 



VI. THE PAULINE EPISTLES. 

The cases where the Greek words Sozo, Soter, and 
Soteria, occur in these epistles, are so numerous, and 
we have commented so freely upon similar cases al- 
ready, that we must now deal with them in a more 
summary manner. This we can well do ; for the same 
principle and method of rendering are carried through 
the whole of the New Testament ; namely : whenever 
temporal or physical salvation is in question, or deliv- 
erance of any sort, the Syriac uses such words as im- 
ply rescue, cure, release, deliver, etc. But where the 
peculiar gift of the Gospel through Christ is evidently 
spoken of, the words signifying to Live, Life, the Life- 
Giver, are always employed to designate it. But on 
the other hand, in the Greek, no such distinction is 
made ; nor is it often made in our English version, 
which follows the Greek. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



43 



ROMANS. 

There are eleven cases in this epistle. They may- 
all be grouped together, the rendering from the Greek 
and the Syriac side by side, without remark, and the 
reader can make the comparison for himself. 



1:16 For I am not ashamed 
of the Gospel of Christ: for 
it is the power of God unto 
(Soterian) Salvation to every 
one that believeth; to the 
Jew first, and also to the 
Greek. 

5: 9 Much more then, being 
now justified by His blood, 
we shall be (sothesometha) 
saved from wrath through 
Him. 

10 For if when we were 
enemies, we were reconciled 
to God by the death of His 
Son; much more, being rec- 
onciled, we shall (sothesome- 
tha) be saved by His life. _ 

8: 24 For we are (esoihe- 
men) saved by hope. 

9: 27 Esaias also crieth 
concerning Israel, Though 
the number of the children 
of Israel be as the sand of 
the sea, a remnant shall be 
(sothesetai) saved. 

10: 1 Brethren, my heart's 
desire and prayer to God for 
Israel is, that they might be 
(eis soterian) saved. 

9 That if thou shalt con- 
fess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and shalt believe in 
thine heart that God hath 
raised Him from the dead, 
thou shalt be (sothese) saved. 

10 For with the heart, 
man believeth unto right- 
eousness; and with the 
mouth, confession is made 
unto {Soterian) Salvation. 



Syeiac. 



For I am not ashamed o 
the Gospel ["of Christ" 
omitted in the Syriac], for it 
is the power of God unto 
Life, to all who believe it. 

How much more shall we 
now be justified by His 
blood, and be rescued from 
wrath by Him ? 

For if when we were ene- 
mies, God was reconciled 
with us by the death of His 
Son, how much more shall 
we in His reconciliation Live 
by His life. 

Because we Live by hope 
(or in hope). 

A remnant of them will 
Live. 



That they might Live. 



Thou shalt Live. 



The mouth that confesseth 
Him is restored to Life. 



44 



THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 



11: 11 I say then, Have 
they stumbled that they 
should fall? God forbid : but 
rather through their fall 
(Soteria) Salvation is come 
unto the Gentile's. 

14 If by any means I may 
provoke to emulation them 
•which are my flesh, and might 
{soso)save some of them. 

26 And so all Israel shall 
be (sbtheselai) saved. 

13: 11 And that, knowing 
the time, that now it is high 
time to awake out of sleep : 
for now is our (Soteria) Sal- 
vation nearer than when we 
believed. 



By their stumbling, Life 
hath come to the Gentiles. 



Might Vivify (or give life 
to) some of them. 



And then all Israel will 
Live. 

For now our Life hath 
come nearer to us than when 
we believed. 



I. CORINTHIANS. 

In this epistle there are thirteen cases, all of the 
Greek verb sozo, to save, and all but one, referring to 
the Gospel gift of Life, are represented in the Syriac 
by (Khya, the root word for) Life. 



Syriac. 

But to us who Live it is 
the energy of God. 



1 : 18 For the preaching 
of the cross is to them that 
perish, foolishness; but unto 
us which are (sozomenois) 
saved, it is the power of God. 

21 For after that in the 
wisdom of God the world by 
wisdom knew not God, it 
pleased God by the foolish- 
ness of preaching to (sosai) 
save them that believe. 

3: 15 If any man's work 
shall be burned, he shall suf- 
fer loss : but he himself shall 
be (sothesetai) saved; yet so 
as by fire. 

Here the thought is fixed, not on what is gained 
but on what is avoided or escaped, and so instead of 
Live we very significantly have (Shazab) escape. 



To Quicken (or to cause 
to live) them who believe. 



But he himself will escape, 
but it will be as from the fire. 



IN THE SYEIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 45 

5: 5 To deliver such an For the destruction of the 

one unto Satan for the de- body, that in the spirit, he 

struction of the flesh, that may have Life in the day of 

the spirit may (sothe) be our Lord Jesus Messiah. 
saved in the day of the Lord 
Jesus. 

This passage raises a perplexing question. I know 
not how to put any other interpretation on it than 
what lies on the surface. Reference is here made to 
what is said in the verse next, above quoted, (15 verse) 
and to the two following, 16 and 17 verses, in which 
the body is declared to be the temple of God. The 
merciful result of this severe church discipline is seen 
in Paul's second Epistle to this Church, 2 : 5-10. 

7 : 16 For what knowest — Procure Life to thy hus- 
thou, O wife, whether thou band. — Procure Life to thy 
shalt (soseis) save thy hus- wife, 
band? or bow knowest thou, 
Oman, whether thou shalt 
(soseis) save thy wife? 

9: 22 To the weak became That I might bring Life to 
I as weak, that I might gain every one. 
the weak: I am made all 
things to all men, that I 
might by all means (soso) 
save some. 

We are taught here the hard lesson of yielding up 
everything in the way of personal preference or con- 
venience — everything but principle — to the preju- 
dices and weaknesses of our fellow-men, in order to 
win them to Christ. This thought is repeated in our 
next citation. 

10:33 Even as I please That they may LrvE. 
all men in all things, not 
seeking mine own profit, but 
the profit of many, that they 
may (sothosi) be saved. 

15: 2 By which also ye By which ye have Life. 
(sozesthe) are saved, if ye 
keep in memory what I 
preached unto you, unless ye 
have believed in vain. 



46 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 

II. CORINTHIANS. 

Syeiac. 
1: 6 And whether we be It is for your consolation 
afflicted, it is for your conso- and your Life that we are 
lation and salvation, which is afflicted, 
effectual in the enduring of 
the same sufferings which we 
also suffer: or whether we be 
comforted, it is for your con- 
solation and [Soterias) Sal- 
vation. 

The word /Soterias, salvation, occurs twice in the 
Greek in this verse, and is so translated in our old ver- 
sion, but only once in the revised version, and this is 
in accordance with the Syriac. 

6: 2 (For He saith, I have In the day of Life have I 
heard thee in a time accepted, aided thee. — Behold now is 
and in the day of [Soterias) the day of Life. 
Salvation have I succored 
thee: behold, now is the ac- 
cepted time; behold, now is 
the day of [Soterias) Sal- 
vation.) 

7: 10 For godly sorrow For sorrowing on account 
worketh repentance to {So- of God, worketh a conver- 
gence) Salvation not to be sion of the soul, which is not 
repented of: but the sorrow reversed, and a turning unto 
of the world worketh death. Life. 

The radical and permanent nature of true repent- 
ance is much more distinctly brought out in the Syr- 
iac than in the Greek and English readings. 

In the Epistle to the Galatians there are no cases; 
and in the Epistle to the Ephesians there are only 
two or three ; but as they bring nothing new to the 
question we are considering, they may be left without 
further notice ; and pass on to the next Epistle, where 
there are three cases of Soteria, and one of JSoter^ 
which it may be well to cite. 

PHILIPPIAXS. 

Syeiac. 
1: 19 For I know that For I know that these 
this shall turn to my [Sote- things will be found (con- 
nan) Salvation through your ducive) to my Life. 
prayer, and the supply of the 
Spirit of Jesus Christ. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



47 



Paul writes this letter while in prison at Rome, 
awaiting the issue of his trial. It may be thought 
that he here refers to the salvation of his natural life. 
In that case, the lower term in the Syriac, signifying 
deliverance, would have been appropriate ; but as the 
higher term {Khya) Life is employed, it is to be un- 
derstood in the Gospel sense, and is appropriately ren- 
dered "Life." 

1: 28 And in nothing ter- An indication of their de 
rifled by your adversaries : struction and of Life to y ou 
which is to them an evident 
token of perdition, but to 
you of (Soterias) Salvation, 
and that of God. 

2: 12 Wherefore, my be- 
loved, as ye have always 
obeyed, not as in my pres- 
ence only, but now much 
more in my absence, work 
out your own (Soterian) Sal- 
vation with fear and trem- 
bling. 

Although the Divine Life is a pure " gift," and not 
a reward of merit, this Life is to be cultivated by the 
diligent and faithful use of the means of grace. 

3: 20 For our conversa- But our concern is in tho 
tion is in heaven; from heaven; from thence we ex- 

our 



Prosecute the work of your 
Life. (Murdoch.) 

Serve the service of your 
Life. [Holding.) 



pect our Life-Giver, 
Lord Jesus the Messiah. 



whence also we look for the 
(Soter) Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ: 

21 Who shall change our 
vile body, that it may be 
fashioned like unto His glo- 
rious body, according to the 
working whereby He is able 
even to subdue all things 
unto Himself. 

When this passage is read in connection with the 
next following (21 verse, which we have also quoted 
above) referring to the doctrine of the Resurrection, 
and the change which our corruptible bodies are then 
to undergo, through the almighty power of this Life- 
Giver, we see how much more clearly this term sets 
Him forth as " the Resurrection and the Life." 

In the Epistle to the Colossians there are no cases 
to be noticed. 



48 



THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 



I. THESSALONIANS. 

Syriac. 

2: 16 Forbidding us to That they may have Life. 
speak to the Gentiles that 
they might be (sothdsin)saved. 

The Jews regarded themselves as the special and 
exclusive favorites of heaven. Even those who had 
embraced Christianity could scarcely tolerate the idea 
of receiving Gentile converts' to the same privileges 
with themselves under the Gospel. 

5: 8 But let us, who are 
of the day, be sober, putting 
on the breastplate of faith 
and love ; and for an helmet, 
the hope of {Soterias) Sal- 
vation. 

9 For God hath not ap- 
pointed us to wrath, but to 
obtain (Soterias) Salvationbj 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 



And take the helmet of the 
hope of Life ; 



For God hath not appointed 
us to wrath, but to the acqui- 
sition of Life, by our Lord 
Jesus the Messiah. 



II. THESSALONIANS. 



2 : 10 And with all deceiv- 
ableness of unrighteousness 
in them that perish ; because 
they received not the love of 
the truth, that they might be 
(sothonai) saved. 

13 But we are bound to 
give thanks always to God 
for you, brethren beloved of 
the Lord, because God hath 
from the beginning chosen 
you to {Soterian) Salvation, 
through sanctification of the 
Spirit. 

I. TIMOTHY. 



Syeiac. 

By which they might have 
Life. 



Chosen you unto Life. 



1: 1 Paul, an Apostle of 
Jesus Christ by the com- 
mandment of God our (Sote- 
ros) Savior, and Lord Jesus 
Christ, which is our hope ; 



Syeiac. 

By the command of Jesus 
our (Mahynin) Life-Giveb, 
and of the Messiah, Jesus 
our Hope. 



IN THE SYBTAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



49 



Jesus the Messiah came 
into the world to give Life 
to sinners. 



15 This is a faithful say- 
ing, and worthy of all accep- 
tation, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to {sosai) 
save sinners; of whom I am 
chief. 

2: 3 For this is good and 
acceptable in the sight of 
God our (Soteros) Savior; 

4 Who will have all men 
to be {sothenai) saved, and to 
come unto the knowledge of 
the truth. 

4: 10 For therefore we 
both labor and suffer re- 
proach, because we trust in 
the living God who is the 
(Soter) Savior of all men, 
especially of those that be- 
lieve. 

The Living God has given life to all who live; for 
He is the Source of all life ; but He is the Life-Giver, 
in a special sense, of those who believe, even the Life 
that is Eternal. 



For this is good and accept- 
able before God our Life- 
Givee: 

Who would have all men 
Live and be converted to 
the knowledge of the truth. 

Who is the Life-Giver of 
all men, especially of be- 
lievers. 



II. TIMOTHY. 



1: 9 Who hath (sosantos) 
saved us, and called us with 
an holy calling. 

2: 10 Therefore I endure 
all things for the elect's sake, 
that they may also obtain 
the (Soterias) Salvation which 
is in Christ Jesus with eter- 
nal glory. 

3: 15 And that from a 
child thou hast known the 
Holy Scriptures, which are 
able to make thee wise unto 
(Soterias) Salvation through 
faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

4: 18 And the Lord shall 
deliver me from every evil 
work, and will Isosei) preserve 
me unto His heavenly king- 
dom; to whom be glory for 
ever and ever. Amen. 
3 



Syriac. 

Who hath given us Life, 
and called us with a holy 
calling. 

That they may obtain Life, 
which is in Jesus the Mes- 
siah, with eternal glory. 



The holy books which can 
make thee wise unto Life. 



And the Lord will rescue 
me from every evil work and 
give me Life in His heavenly 
kingdom. 



50 



THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 



Here, as elsewhere, the Syriac makes clear the 
broad distinction, which is not manifest in the Greek 
or English, between a rescue from evil, and the gift of 
the heavenly Life in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 



TITUS. 



Syriac. 
By the command of God 
our Life-Giver. 



1:3 But hath indue times 
manifested His word through 
preaching, which is commit- 
ted unto me, according to 
the commandment of God 
our (Soteros) Savior. 

4 To Titus, mine own son 
after the common faith: 
Grace, mercy, and peace, 
from God the Father, and 
the Lord Jesus Christ our 
(Soteros) Savior. 

The term " Life-Giver " is accorded to both the 
Father and the Sou, for it is the gift of God through 
His Son Jesus Christ. 



Grace and peace from God 
our Father, and from our 
Lord Jesus the Messiah our 

LlEE-GrVER. 



2: 10 Not purloining, but 
shewing all good fidelity; 
that they may adorn the doc- 
trine of God our {Soteros) 
Savior in all things. 

11 For the grace of God 
that bringeth (Soterios) Sal- 
vation hath appeared to all 
men. 

13 Looking for that bless- 
ed hope, and the glorious 
appearing of the great God 
and our (Soteros) Savior 
Jesus Christ; 

3: 4 But after that the 
kindness and love of God our 
(Soteros) Savior toward man 
appeared. 

5 Not by works of right- 
eousness which we have done, 
but according to His mercy 
He (esdsen) saved us, by the 
washing of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost ; 

6 Which he shed on us 
abundantly, through Jesus 
Christ our (Soteros) Savior ; 



Of God our 
in all things. 



Life-Giver 



For the all vivifying (life- 
giving) grace of God is re- 
vealed to all men. 

Looking for the blessed 
hope and the manifestation 
of the glory of the great God 
our Life-Giver, Jesus the 
Messiah. 

But when the kindness and 
compassion of God our Life- 
Giver was revealed, 

Not by works of righteous- 
ness which we have done, 
but by His mercy He Quick- 
ened us, by the washing of 
the new birth aud by the 
renovation of the Holy Spirit, 
which he shed on us richly 
by Jesus the Messiah our 
Life-Giver. 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



51 



VII. HEBREWS. 

The Epistle to the Hebrews could hardly have been 
written by Paul, for various reasons, which we cannot 
now stop to consider, — though it might have been 
written by his associate Silas ; and this is quite probable. 
That it was originally written in Syriac, like the Gos- 
pel of Matthew, and then translated into Greek, what- 
ever may be true of the other Epistles, is generally 
admitted by the best critics. It gives us two cases of 
the verb jSozo, and seven of the noun Soteria, all but 
one of which refer to the heavenly Life, and are so 
indicated in the Syriac by the use of the (root) word 
Khya. 

Syriac. 
To them who are to inherit 
Life. 



1: 14 Are they not all 
ministering spirits sent forth 
to minister for them who 
shall be heirs of (Sbterian) 
Salvation ? 

2: 3 How shall we escape, 
if we neglect so great (Sote- 
rias) Salvation; 

10 For it became Him, for 
whom are all things, and by 
whom are all things, in bring- 
ing many sons unto glory, to 
make the Captain of their 
(Soterias) Salvation perfect 
through sufferings. 

5 : 7 Who in the days of 
His flesh, when He had of- 
fered up prayers and suppli- 
cations with strong crying 
and tears unto Him that was 
able to (sozein) save Him 
from death, and was heard in 
that He feared ; 

9 And being made perfect, 
He became the Author of 
eternal (Soterias) Salvation 
unto all them that obey Him. 



The reference in verse 



If we despise the things 
which are our Life. 



To perfect the Prince of 
their Life by suffering. 



To Him who was able 
to Resuscitate Him from 
death, and He was heard. 

And thus He was perfected, 
and became the cause of 
Eternal Life to all them who 
obey Him. (The ladder of 
the Life which is Everlasting. 
Holding. ) 

7 is to Christ's agony in 



the garden. It has commonly been regarded as a very 



52 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 

difficult passage. Commentators have stumbled over 
it because they have construed the Greek verb to save, 
as meaning to hinder, or prevent, to save him from 
dying. But the Syriac reading to resuscitate, or to 
raise again to life from death, makes the meaning per- 
fectly clear. We know that He was heard in regard 
to this very thing, — the restoration of His life after 
death. For we are told, 2 Cor. 13 : 4, " For though 
He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by 
the power of God." Eph. 1: 19. "According to the 
working of His (God's) mighty power which He 
wrought in Christ when He raised Sim from the dead m 

6: 9 But, beloved, we are Things which pertain to 
persuaded better things of Life. 
you, and things that accom- 
pany (Soterias) Salvation, 
though we thus speak. 

7 : 25 Wherefore He is He is able to give Life f or- 
able also to [sozein) save them ever to them who come to 
to the uttermost that come God by Him. For He always 
unto God by Him, seeing He liveth and sendeth up prayers 
ever liveth to make interces- for them, 
sion for them. 

9:28 So Christ was once A second time, without 
offered to bear the sins of sin, will He appear for the 
many; and unto them that Life of those who expect 
look for Him shall He appear Him. 
the second time without sin 
unto (Soterian) Salvation. 

His first Advent was to make an atonement for sin, 
but His second Advent will have no such purpose. 
It will be to receive His people into that Eternal Life 
for which they are looking. 

11: 7 By faith Noah, being He made himself an ark 
warned of God of things not for the Life of his household, 
seen as yet, moved with fear, 
prepared an ark to the (sote- 
rian) saving of his house. 

This last example is the only one of the nine in this 
Epistle in which the word " save " in Greek, and 
" Life " in Syriac, does not evidently have prime ref- 
erence to the life of the world to come. Perhaps, 
however, even here, both sorts of life should be in- 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 



53 



eluded under the one term " Life." This was an act 
of faith — and the salvation should not be understood 
as restricted to this life only. 

VIII. THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES OF JAMES, 
PETER, AND JOHN. 



JAMES. 



1 : 21 Wherefore lay apart 
all filthiness, and superfluity to your souls 
of naughtiness, and receive 
with meokness the ingrafted 
word, which is able to {sosai) 
save your souls. 

2: 14 What doth it profit, 
my brethren, though a man 
say he hath faith and have 
not works? can faith {sosai) 
save him? 

4: 12 There is one Law- 
giver, who is able to {sosai) 
save, and to destroy. 

5: 20 Let him know that 
he which converteth the 
sinner from the error of his 
way shall (sosei) save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a 
multitude of sins. 



Syriac. 
Which is able to give Life 



Can his faith give him 
Life? 



Who can make Alive and 
can destroy. 

Will Resuscitate a soul 
from death and cover the 
multitude of sins. 



I. PETER. 



1 : 5 Who are kept by the 
power of God through faith 
unto {Soterian) Salvation, 
ready to be revealed in the 
last time. 

9 Receiving the end of 
your faith, even the (Sote- 
rian) Salvation of your souls. 

10 Of which (Soterias) 
Salvation the prophets have 
inquired and searched dili- 
gently, who prophesied of 
the grace that should come 
uuto you. 



Syriac. 



Kept by the power of God 
and by faith for the Life that 
is prepared, and will be re- 
vealed in the last time. 

That ye may receive the 
recompense of your faith, 
the Life of your souls. 

That Life about which the 
prophets inquired, when they 
were prophesying of the 
grace which was to be given 
to you. 



54 THE GOSPEL OE LIEE. 

The Old Testament saints unquestionably had some 
true ideas of that future Life immortal — that "length 
of days forever and ever," which it was the purpose 
of God to give to His people, by a Resurrection from 
the dead. They prophesied of it, and warned sinners 
against the second death, from which there was no 
recovery, saying: "Why will ye die?" But it was 
only through types and figures and vague promises 
that this great doctrine was assured to them. Their 
faith laid hold of it as that " some better thing," that 
was yet to be more clearly revealed to His people. 
They did not, indeed, fully comprehend these prom- 
ises, as we now read them in the Gospel, through 
which this " Life and Immortality are brought to 
light." They did not, indeed, comprehend the full 
import of their own prophecies, as we now compre- 
hend them, but they searched diligently, that they 
might know them. 

How happy are our ears, 

That hear this joyful sound, 
Which kings and prophets waited for, 

And sought, but never found. 

How blessed are our eyes, 

That see this heavenly light ; 
Prophets and kings desired it long, 

But died without the sight. 

4:18 And if the righteous If the righteous scarcely 

scarcely be (sozetai) saved, Liveth, where will the un- 

where shall the ungodly and godly and the sinner be 

the sinner appear? found ? 



I. JOHN. 

Syriac. 

4: 14 And we have seen We have seen and do tes- 
and do testify that the Father tify that the Father hath 
sent the Son to be the (So- sent His Son a Redeemer 
tera) Savior of the world. (Prooka or Paroka), for the 

world. 

This passage last cited, and the last to be cited, is 
one of the most important of them all. It is only in 
the Syriac that the distinction is made clear between 



IN THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. .55 

the Redemption of all the children of Adam, from 
their natural or Adamic death, by the death of Christ, 
and their salvation to Eternal Life. The word Soter 
in Greek, always rendered Savior in English, usually 
reads Life-Giver in the Syriac, because it is His chief 
prerogative to give the boon of Eternal Life to those 
who believe on Him. But here in the Syriac it does 
not read Life-Giver, but Redeemer, for He is indeed 
the Redeemer of the world, the whole world. Re- 
demption by Christ is as broad as our death by Adam. 
" As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made 
alive." But this does not entitle all men to Eternal 
Life ; it only brings them before the bar of God to 
answer for their own individual sins. It is only the 
righteous that enter into Eternal Life — the wicked 
are condemned to the second death, from which there 
is no recovery. The Syriac reading takes from the 
Universalist this, which is one of his chief proof texts. 
Christ is not the Savior of the world in the sense in 
which this word is usually taken by him — but He is a 
Redeemer of the world, as the Syriac shows, but the 
Life-Giver of only those who believe on His name. 
" It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this 
the judgment." " For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in Him should not perish but have Everlasting 
Life." 

The Syriac Peshito canon of the New Testament 
closes here. Without going on to notice the few 
cases of this word that occur in the remaining books, 
as they were subsequently added, we may well con- 
clude our review with the following summary remarks. 

Our criticism lies, not against the Greek words Sozo, 
Soter, and Soteria, nor against their rendering in our 
version, because of what they express, but because of 
what they fail to express. These words — or rather 
this word, for they may be treated as substantially 
one — may have respect to a mere temporal or tempo- 
rary rescue, a salvation from physical evil, or peril, or 
to our redemption or resurrection from our Adamic 



56 THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. 

death, which includes the whole human family, as in 
the passage last cited (1 John 4 : 14,) or, supposing 
the doctrine of endless sin and misery to be true, it 
may have respect to our salvation from this fearful 
doom. But all this, in the popular mind, is a salva- 
tion only from, and not to, any thing. The force of 
the word seems to have expended itself, and to stop 
just here — a salvation from f And this is just where 
our modern theology is deficient. Man is said to be 
immortal without any Savior. He has incurred by his 
sins the penalty of endless sin and misery. Now what 
he is thought to need is, not the gift of an Eternal 
Life, but to be rescued or delivered or saved from 
this doom, that he may pass his eternal life in the 
blessedness and joy of heaven. As for an endless life, 
he has it now, in his own right. It has not been for- 
feited ; it cannot be. But he must be rescued or 
saved from the fearful doom to which he is exposed. 
This is the great salvation of the Gospel, and Christ, 
who saves him, is his Savior. 

But this is a very low and meager view of Christ 
and His Gospel. It takes no account of the great 
boon, the gift He brings us. " The gift of God is 
Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord." " I 
give unto them Eternal Lite," says Christ. This is 
indeed constantly reiterated throughout the New Tes- 
tament, in all our versions, but the Grecian philoso- 
phy, that dominates our theological schools, and 
which has put its interpretation on our Greek and 
English versions, has contrived to give such a spiritu- 
alistic, ethical interpretation to this word " Life," and 
to its opposite " Death," as to save the Platonic doc- 
trine of the natural immortality of all men, and to 
make these words " life " and " death " mean, simply 
states of being; one a state of endless blessedness, 
and the other a state of endless sin and misery, so 
that these words Save, Savior, Salvation, simply in the 
sense of rescue, exactly express all its advocates would 
have them express, and only this. 

But when we turn to the Syriac (Peshito) New 
Testament, which certainly ante-dates as a collection 



IN THE SYBIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 57 

of the sacred writings every other collection ; which 
was made even during the lifetime of most of the 
Apostles, and which is in the vernacular of the Jews 
of that age, and which gives the very words of our 
Lord and His immediate disciples, we find this great 
Gospel truth brought out so fully, so clearly, so 
emphatically, and so repeatedly, as to put it beyond 
the possibility of cavil or dispute with those who 
receive these Scriptures as the Word of God. 

In the one hundred and twenty or more instances 
cited in the foregoing paper, in which the Greek 
word Sozo occurs, either as a verb or noun, and gen- 
erally translated Save, Savior, Salvation, in our ver- 
sion, we find that in every case, where the salvation 
in question is evidently a temporal rescue or deliver- 
ance, a salvation from ? a word is used in the Syriac 
to express this idea, such as rescue, restore, cure, r&- 
deem^oY save, etc. But in all the other cases, where 
the Gospel boon or gift is spoken of — including the 
great majority of cases — the higher specific word sig- 
nifying to give Life, The gift of Life, The Life- 
Giver, is employed. If this distinctive representa- 
tion had been carried into the Greek, as it is not, and 
into our version, where it is also wanting, it would 
seem to have been absolutely impossible to have lost 
this prime Gospel doctrine out of our Christian the- 
ology, or to have obscured it to the mind of the com- 
mon reader. 

And now, if all who believe in this central doctrine 
of Immortality and Eternal Life only in Christ, 
would go back to the primitive mode of expressing 
the doctrine they hold, and use, instead of the words 
Save, Salvation, Savior, which are but partial and 
ambiguous at best, the more expressive and definite 
words To Live, Life, our Life-Giver, as the first dis- 
ciples did, we might perhaps do something toward 
restoring the primitive faith in this leading doctrine 
of the Gospel : — Eternal Life as the gift of God 
through Jesus Christ our Life-Giver. 

Philadelphia, Pa., March, 1886. 
3* 



{From the Rainbow, London, England.) 

LITERABY IsTOTIOE, 

By Rev. Edwaed "White, 
Pres. of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. 

THE UNSPEAKABLE GIFT 

OF ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. 
By J. H. Pettingell, A.M. 

Mr. Pettingell, whose name is familiar to our readers, is per- 
haps, now that Prof. Hudson, of Cambridge, Mass., is dead, the 
most accomplished and persistent advocate of the doctrine of 
Life in Christ, in the United States; and this book is the ma- 
turest labor of his pen. He has condensed into this admirable 
duodecimo, the substance of the whole controversy on immor- 
tality during the last thirty years, and exhibited the result in a 
style of singular clearness, force, and penetration. If we 
were asked to mention any work, which, while not tdb elab- 
orate, was yet fitted to satisfy scholars, without being unin- 
telligible to ordinary educated readers, we should certainly fix 
on this book of Mr. Pettingell's as deserving of this recommend, 
ation. The entrance of a single copy of this cheap and well 
printed volume into any congregation would inevitably com- 
mence a theological revolution of a wholesome description. 
. . . We most heartily commend this volume to our readers, 
begging them to observe that it is sold in England by Mr. 
Elliot Stock, of London. 

Mr. Pettingell has conferred a service of inestimable value 
upon the English reading world by this, the crowning labor of 
his life. It is introduced to the American public by a brief pref- 
ace from the pen of Mr. Edward White, of London. 

Mr. Pettingell shows a wide acquaintance with the literature 
of the discussion, and his benignant temper is such as to obtain 
a hearing for his case from all except envenomed "disputers 
of this world." The "man of God" appears in every page 
dealing with divine truths in a divine manner. 

The book is beautifully bound in fine muslin, with back and 
side title. Published by 

I. C. Wellcome, Yarmouth, Me. 

Price $1.00. Postage free 



THE UNSPEAKABLE GIFT. 



BY J. H. PETTINGELL, A.M. 



COMMENDATORY NOTICES. 

The first edition (of 1,000) of the Unspeakable Gift was ex- 
hausted within two months from the time of its first appearance. 
We subjoin a few of the many notices that have been received. 

From Rev. Edward White, London, Eng. 
"I think it the fullest, calmest, the ablest, and most Christian rep- 
resentation of conditional immortality hitherto made. Your work 
is most admirably done. The style is very pure and forcible. As 
for the chapter of contrasted parallels at the end, it is splendid. 
I wish it were republished in England." 

From Rev. Geo. R. Kramer, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
" That man is essentially immortal is neither the utterance of 
Reason or Revelation, but that those who are qualified for immor- 
tality will receive it is the suggestion of Reason and the promise of 
Revelation. All this is ably presented by Mr. Pettingell in this 
work. Mr. Pettingell's book is a scholarly work, and his style is 
forcible. This book is the work of an educated man, who, accept- 
ing the word of God as a little child, ' has been redeemed from the 
vain corruption received by tradition of his fathers.' " 

From the Christian - at Work. 
" Whether agreeing or disagreeing with the author's teaching 
that none but the righteous will gain immortality, and that all 
others must utterly perish, this recent book will be found intensely 
interesting." 

From Rev. W. Lease, d.d., London, Eng. (in the " Rainbow "). 

" Mr. Pettingell has done well in the fidelity of his testimony to 
the central truth of Scriptures — Eternal Life only in Christ. He 
sees this as the sublime meaning of redemption, and he also sees 
the abounding theological confusion caused by blindness to this 
fact. This his last work, though not his least, is marked by a ful- 
ness of thought and clearness of expression which the intelligent 
reader will know how to appreciate." 

From the Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, O. 
" The doctrine of this work is that immortality is the gift of God 
through Jesus Christ, and is the portion only of believers; while 
the wicked, though raised at the judgment, will, after the judg- 
ment, be literally destroyed. The author appears to have ex- 
amined the question with much care, in which he displays a large 
amount of literary and biblical scholarship. In all other respects 
he holds the general system of doctrine common to evangelical 
Christians. Whether his views are accepted or not, he will not fail 
to command the respect of the reader." 

From the Philadelphia Methodist. 
" The author distinctively shows that eternal life is the gift of 
God through Jesus Christ; that none but the righteous will gain 
immortality; that all others must utterly perish. The author shows 
conclusively that it was God's original purpose to give immortality 
to man, but having fallen by sin he can only be restored through 



Christ. We want more of the power of this * unspeakable gift ' to 
overcome sin and secure holiness." 

From the Christian Standard, Pittsburg, Pa. 
" Mr. Pettingell is a pleasant writer, and shows no mean" ability 
in arranging his arguments in defence of his positions. Indeed, we 
know of no book in advocacy of the same views that makes a more 
plausible showing of that side of the question." 

From The Interior, Chicago, 111. 
" This book is an earnest, courteous, and fairly creditable endeav- 
or to prove that immortality does not come from Ad mi by natural 
birth, and is not, consequently, the natural endowment of every 
man, but that it is a supernatural endowment derived f 1 om Christ, 
and only by a new spiritual birth and a resurrection from the dead." 

From the Central Baptist, St. Louis, Mo. 
" The author is a man of extensive scholarship, and argues his 
points forcibly and earnestly, so that the book is a good defence of 
his views, whatever maybe the opinions of the reader." 

From the Editor of Restitution. 
" No better book has yet been brought out than 'The Unspeak- 
able Gift.' It is emphatically the book for the times." 

From the Illustrated Weekly. 
"Mr. Pettingell argues with great earnestness, evidently believ- 
ing that he is upholding the cardinal truth of the gospel." 

From the Christian Statesman, Milwaukee, Wis. 
"If we rightly understand this author, it is that immortality is 
not inherent in man, but is the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a 
practical fact, nothing is plainer to us than that it is true. There is 
no immortality, eternal life, without Christ. It is a duty to read 
such books. This book contains a vast amount of authorities on 
the subject." 

From the Methodist Recorder, Philadelphia, Pa. 

" The author of this volume is a thoughtful, scholarly and rever- 
ent writer. His position is that eternal life is the gift of God 
through Jesus Christ. While those who believe in Christ shall be- 
come immortal, those who reject him, he holds, will lose this boon, 
and perish forever — cease to be. The author presents his view with 
considerable clearness and force." 

From the Zion's Herald, Boston, Mass. 

" The writer is one of the ablest defenders of the doctrine oi 
conditional, as distinguished from natural, immortality. He be- 
lieves this (the immortal life) to be purely the gift of Christ. An 
immense amount of literature bearing upon the theme is gathered 
in this volume. The conviction and earnestness of the author as to 
the truth he utters are apparent on every page." 

From Mr. James Spence, Madras. India. 
" I have read the book with great pleasure and profit. It is just 
the book for the times, a compendium of the scriptural doctrine of 
Life in Christ, on its broadest platform." 

From the (Methodist) Christian Advocate, Richmond, Va. 

" Mr. Pettingell has written several books, but this is said to 
be his best. It is plainly and strongly written, and will do good in 
these times of new creeds and new dogmas." 



f THE GOSPEL OF LIFE ' I 

x , T h E ■■■■-■ jj 

Q SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT. 

x) y 

\J THE SYRIAC, PESHITO, CONTRASTED WITH THE GREEK, WITH {§ 

g[ RESPECT TO THE FOLLOWING WORDS, VIZ.: §\ 



(Gkeek.) (English Version of the Greek.) (English Version of the Syriac.) g>\ 

Save. to give Life. (% 

Salvation. ThegiftofLife. t) 
Savior. The Life-Giver, h 



SOZO. 

SOTERIA. 

SOTER. 



9 
6 

0^ 




J. H. PETTINGELL, A. M. 



uthoriof the " Homiletical Index," "Theological Trilemma," 
" Platonism versus Christianity" "Bible Terminology," 
" The Life Everlasting,"" The Unspeakable Gift," "Lan- 
guage—Its Nature and Functions," " The Two Ways," 
"Will Satan Live Forever?" "Human Immor- 
tality, " "Life and Death in the Neio Testa- 
ment" " The Fact and Nature of the 
Resurrection of the Dead," etc., etc. 







" Christ spoke and discoursed in the Syriac language." Francius. 

" Tbe greater part of the New Testament was originally written — I 
believe — in Syriac, and not merely translated, in the Apostolic age." 
Pres. E. Stiles, of Yale College. 

" It is natural to suppose, from its great antiquity, that it must deviate in 
many cases from the Greek manuscripts, the oldest of which were written 
above four hundred years later, and are mostly the productions of coun- 
tries remote from Syria." Michaelis. 



YARMOUTH, ME.: 

SCRIPTURAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 

Address, I. C. WELLCOME. 

Price, 15 Cents, by mail. 



THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION. 



SIXTH THOUSAND. 



" We think it decidedly the best volume ever put forth. It far surpasses 
all my anticipations. It will shed new light upon all."— Glad Tidings. 

" I think no one can carefully read the book without being benefited. "- 
Dr. J. Bxtes, Congregations! ist. 

" It has given me more light on the Bible than I obtained in fifty veirs' 
stuiyanl meetings."—/?. Lufkin, Congregational ist. 

" I never read any book with so much satisfaction."— J. N. TFate. Meth . 

" We all like the book. I wish you to send me ten dollars' worth to dis- 
tribute among our children and friends."— E. W. Wate, Baptist. 

" It is the best work, in many respects, that I ever read. It is a remark- 
able book. I hive read it through five times."— 5. M. Adams. 

" It is the choicest book on that subject I ever read."— Eider P. W. Hbujh. 

"'The Plan of Redemption.' I think it the best work I ever read on 
theSeriptures."— Elder Ritfws Baker. 

"I have been examining the book, 'The Plan of Redemption,' for my- 
self. I mast s\y here, tint it is the most comprehensive and instructive 
work that I ever examined on any theological subject whatever." — Elder 
M. B. Patterson. 

" Your book contains sublime ideas and deep thoughts. There are parts 
of it I like very much."— W. H. Sliailer, D. D. 

"The Plan of Redemption is one of the most imoortant books I have 
ever read. All christians should read it."— Prof. F. A. Slater, Ark. 

" I have just finished reading your book. It is so good I shall help circu- 
late it. Send me one hundred copies." A second order. " Ihavesoldand 
given all. Send me 10 J copies more." — Win. Watson, De Ka'b, III. 

'■I heartily thank you for that excellent book, ' The Plan of Redemption.' 
It is a perfect treasure. I am delighted with it. I could find use for ten 
copies if I had then. I have loaned it to a Baptist brother. He is mucn 
pleased with it."— X Spence, Mission Agent, Madras, E. India. 

-■ Your beautiful book has been of great benefit to me. It sets forth the 
Plan of Redemption so clearly. We are having it translate I into Tamil, 
hoping to get funds to publish it for the natives of India." — Bt 
Massulamxni, Missionary, South India. 

" I have re id ' Plan of Redemption.' I like it much; how refreshing to 
get hold of the truth, and feel and know that it is the truth. Yo lr tenth 
chapter interest? 1 me most; I wish I had it in tract form to distribute." — 
D. D. Chaffee, Wilbraham, Mass. 

" I am greatly pleased with your book, 'The Plan of Redemption.' I 
think it the best work I ever read on the Scriptures."— Eld. R. B I '; 

" I am highly pleased with your work, 'The Plan of Redemption;' it 
seems so clear and expressive of Seripture sentiments. I want to get it 
into the hands of every one." —C. Taller, West Poin+.N'. T. 

" It is just the book for the times. It is a bo >k long nee led. But few 
people are convers mt with the plan of redemption as revealed in the Bible, 
and the authors seem to be fully aware of this fact, and have ma 
subject so plain that tp child eanunderatan lit. I think Christians should 
do all they can to circulate this very important book." — O. \V. KimX 

We have nearly one thousand testimonies similar to the above, nearly 
fifty from men who were converted from Universalism by reading it. 

All who want to engage in selling such a work, to benefit their fellow- 
men, an 1 earn good pay, may address I. C. WELtiCOME, Yarmouth, Me., 
with postage stamp, for terms. Our terms are libaral and safe. 

Sixth thousand,— neatly bound in muslin, $1.25. Sent post-paid by mail. 
Address, I. C WEL.TL.COME, 

Ya.x'nioiitli, 31e. 



THE ONE FOLD AND ONLY DOOR, 

13y A. C. PALMER. 
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT BOOK FOR THESE TIMES. 

WE GIVE A FEW OF MAKY NOTICES. 

The One Fold and the Only Door is a book that is easily understood, 
and whilst it attacks the error of the glorification of the saint at death, it 
presents in bold promontory conspieuousness the positive truth of a real, 
substantial, incorruptible recompense through Him who says, "lam the 
resurrection and the life." The argument is clear, very plain and strong. 
One is deeply impressed in reading this work of the absolute necessity of 
rising again in order to enter upon the grandeurs of the kingdom of God. 
Brooklyn, X. l\, Rev. Geo. li. Kramer. 

It is one of the best books I ever read.— E. Glidden. 

From Zions Herald.— The One Fold and the Only Door, by A. C. 
Palmer. This volume has much in it that a devout heart can enjoy. It 
teaches the actual unconsciousness of the dead until Christ's second coming, 
and then the resurrection to eternal life only of those who fall asleep in 
Him. The volume shows much ingenuity. 

From The Portland Transcript.— From I. C. Wellcome we have a volume 
entitled The One Fold and the Only Door. It is a treatise in support 
of the dogma that the resurrection is a future event for all saints; that 
those who have died in the faith await the resurrection in an entirely un- 
conscious state. The"beiter country" premised by God is nut yet re- 
ceived by any of his saints. The Lord"s people do not enter heaven one 
by one, but en masse. It shows that man's natural immortality is not 
taught in the Bible. The eternal death promised the wicked is literal. It 
wilt interest students of the Bible. 

From The Conc/i*ef/ationatist.—T~KE One Fold and the Only Door, 
by A. C. Palmer," sets forth his idea of the Biblical teachings about our 
future life and abode. He has some peculiar ideas, such as that the 
soul actually does sleep from death until the resurrection, that all the 're- 
deemed then will enter heaven together, that the paradise promised by 
Jesus to the penitent thief is yet to be entered. Mr. Palmer writes with 
unfailing reverence and with'the highest purpose. His views deserve the 
courteous head of Biblical students. 

From The Interior, Chicago.— In The One Fold and the Only 
Door A. C. Palmer endeavois to disprove the doctrine of natural immor- 
tality. He insists that conscious life ends at death to good and bad alike, 
that believers do not go immediately to heaven, but that they, too, remain 
in a state of death till Christ at his second coming gives them resurrection 
ami life. 

From The Central Baptist , Ft. Louis.— This leck discusses in a calm 
and thoughtful way the doctrines of which it treats ; meeting much of 
modern error and bringing forth much of truth. 

From The Bath Times.— This is a well-written, critical, instructive, valu- 
able, and timely book, in a remarkable kindly spirit and forcible arguments- 
Neatly bound in hue muslin, gilt back, and gilt side title. 

From Messiah's Advocate, Cal. — It treats in a clear style of the Necessity 
of the Resurrection, God, the God of the Living. Paxil's Desire to Depart, 
The Thief on the Cross, our Earthly Home, Rich Man and Lazarus. Trans- 
figuration, Spirits in Prison, and many other things, bringing out old 
truths in a neat volume. 

From The WorUV s Crisis, Boston.— This is a well made book, written by 
A. C. Palmer. The author discusses, with clearness and ability, "The 
Unseen Things ; The Gathering; Resurrection ; A Knotty Question An- 
swered ; The One Fold ; Christ and the Penitent Thief ; Paradise and the 
Third Heaven ; The Rich Man and Lazarus," etc., etc. This work should 
have a liberal patronage . 

Neatly bound, gilt back, and gilt side title. Trice, CO cents, by mail. 

THE SCRIPTURAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

Yarmouth, Maine. Address, I. C. Wellcome 



AN OPEN LETTEE 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE "CONGREGATIONALISM" 

Being a Reply to an answer given in the " Congregationalist," to a corre- 
spondent who asked the editor's views as to the strength of the proof of 
Conditional Immortality. 

BY KEY. J. H. PETTIXGELL, A. M„ 

Author of the "Theological Trilemma," "Platonism vs. Christianity," 

"The Life Everlasting," "Bible Terminology," "The 

Unspeakable Gift," etc. 

§2.00 per 100; 35 cents per dozen, by mail. 

A REPLY TO REV. JOHN GREENE, A. M„ 

" LIFE AND DEATH Df THE NEW TESTAMENT," 

In the Baptist Quarterly Review for December, 1884. 
By J. H. PETTIXGELL, A.M. 
§2.00 per 100; 35 cents per dozen, by mail. 

A BEPIT TO PROF.W.G.T.SHEDI), D.D., LL.D., 

OX 

" THE CERTAINTY OF EXDLESS PUNISHMENT," 

In the North American Review for February, 1885. 
BY J. H. PETTIXGELL, A. M. 
§2 00 per 100; 35 cents per dozen, by mail. 

THE TWO WAYS, 

THE WAT OF LIFE AND THE WAY OF DEATH. 

An Address before ihe Young Ministers' Christian Union, at Providence, 
R. L, Aug. 6, 1885. Repeated before the Association for the Promotion of 
Christian' Knowledge, at Brooklyn, X. Y., Sept. 27, ] 
By J. H. PETTIXGELL. A. M. 

$4.00 per 100; 50 cents per dozen, by mail. 



THE FACT AXD THE NATURE OF 

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD; 

HISTORICAL. DOCTRINAL, SCRIPTURAL. 
An Address before the General Convention of Ministers and Laymen, at 
Worcest?r, Mass , Nov. 11. 1885. 

Br J. H. PETTIXGELL, A. 31. 
$2.00 per 100; 35 cents per dozen, by mail. 

TWE GOSPEL OF ETERNAL LIFE. 

A EEPLY TO EEV. J. H. BROOKES, D. D., 

ON ANNIHILATION. 

In "The Truth."' for Novksekeb and December, 1885. 

By J. H. PETTIXGELL, A. M. 

Price of each of the above works, .3 cents, by mail. 

YARMOUTH, ME. : 
SCRIPTURAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
Address I. C. WELLCOME. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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